A carved leather shield (dhal) with silver bosses, India, probably Deccan, late 17th/18th century
Auction Closed
October 27, 03:41 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
of domed circular form, the thick stiffened leather carved in relief throughout with inscriptions arranged within ornate foliate designs, remnants of pigment, four silver bosses, the interior with black lacquer paint, padded silk arm rest with two handles fastened on four hooks
58.5cm. diam.
This lot should not bear a Warehouse symbol and will remain at New Bond Street after the sale.
inscriptions
The four central cartouches: 'There is no hero like 'Ali, and there is no sword like dhul'faqar'
Leather shields are scarce, most probably as a result of the perishability of their material. A lacquered leather shield with gilt decoration focusing on four inscriptions such as those on the present example is in the Furusiyya Art Foundation, inv. no.R-877, attributed to the seventeenth century (see Mohammed 2007, p.377, no.357). A further black lacquered leather example is in the Royal Collection, Jaipur, inv. no.WALL.1 (Old label 25). It is decorated with floral stems and attributed by Robert Elgood as Mughal/Deccani, late seventeenth/early eighteenth century (Elgood 2015, p.160, no.114). Another example is in the Roy Elvis Collection of South Indian Arms and Armour (The Hindu Warrior, Olympia Auctions publications, 2020).
The four central cartouches: 'There is no hero like 'Ali, and there is no sword like dhul'faqar'
Leather shields are scarce, most probably as a result of the perishability of their material. A lacquered leather shield with gilt decoration focusing on four inscriptions such as those on the present example is in the Furusiyya Art Foundation, inv. no.R-877, attributed to the seventeenth century (see Mohammed 2007, p.377, no.357). A further black lacquered leather example is in the Royal Collection, Jaipur, inv. no.WALL.1 (Old label 25). It is decorated with floral stems and attributed by Robert Elgood as Mughal/Deccani, late seventeenth/early eighteenth century (Elgood 2015, p.160, no.114). Another example is in the Roy Elvis Collection of South Indian Arms and Armour (The Hindu Warrior, Olympia Auctions publications, 2020).