A mother-of-pearl oratory, Gujarat, 17/18th century

the wood body of rectangular form, with a pair of foliate hinged doors opening to reveal a mirror glass, the back, frame and external doors decorated with plaques of mother-of-pearl secured by metal pins, the internal doors painted with flowers emanating from baluster vases

The exterior in generally good condition, a few minor hairline cracks to the mother-of-pearl pieces and some with minor chips along edges, some which associated restoration, a couple of plaques most probably later replacements, some abrasion around a few of the pins with oxidisation to the hinges and ring for hanging, the mirror set in the interior broken and consolidated with scotch tape, would need replacing, as well as the wooden frame holding it in, the wooden shutters brightly painted and in good condition, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The presence of Portuguese missionaries in India resulted in the commissioning of a number of Christian themed objects. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Gujarat, in Western India was a centre for mother-of-pearl work, which was in high demand both locally and abroad. Records from the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) in Dresden indicate that Gujarati mother-of-pearl wares were being imported to Europe from as early as the second quarter of the sixteenth century. The commissioning of such wares was particularly associated with the Portuguese. Dated evidence is also provided by a work in situ in India: the cenotaph of the tomb of Sheikh Salim ad-Din Chishti, at Fatehpur-Sikri, 1569-85 (see Hambly 1977, fig. 37), which is decorated with mother-of-pearl revetment.

Very few mother-of-pearl portable oratories have survived, the only other known example is in a private collection in Lisbon and was exhibited in Exotica at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in 2002 (Lisbon 2002, no.23). Both oratories have identical hinges and display the same diamond trellis decoration to the doors and the chevron bands around the frame. Pedro Moura Carvalho relates the distinctive geometric patterning on the Lisbon oratory with the hilt of a kard formerly in the Riboud collection (ibid. p.118). Amina Okada in her analysis of the kard (Okada 2000, p.56) suggests an alternative centre of production due to the unusual geometric patterning and lack of iridescence, however as Moura Carvalho states this is unlikely due to the scarcity of related examples.

It is worth noting that the painted floral decoration on the internal doors of the current lot relates closely to other seventeenth-century painted furniture from Western India including cabinets in the Victoria & Albert Museum (IS 142-1984), a private Portuguese collection (Dias 2002 p.112) and the internal decoration of a khatamkari penbox in the al-Sabah collection, Kuwait (Milan 2011, no.144).