A parcel-gilt silver filigree, enamel and coloured glass set incense burner, East Indies, 18th century

Associated Literature:
William Marsden F.R.S, The History of Sumatra, containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitants, with a description of the natural productions, and a relation of the ancient political state of that island. (London, 1783. p. 143-145)

Another filigree incense burner with many similarities of construction and style but without gems or enamels,  was sold Sothebys, Arts of the Islamic World, 7 October 2009. This was catalogued as Indian, Gujerat, and possibly for the Turkish market because of the Islamic crescents which surmounted the raised parts.  Whether this filigree work was made in India or further east possibly in west Sumatra is open to debate.  

In response to the great demand for filigree  in the 17th and 18th century, both from  oriental buyers and those from Europe including the  princely courts,  one of the areas of production was West Sumatra close to the Dutch capital of its trading empire, Batavia. A now much quoted description by the English Orientalist and Secretary of the British Admiralty, William Marsden F.R.S. (1734-1836) in his History of Sumatra in 1784, puts the importance of that large island into perspective. ‘There is no manufacture in that part of the world; and perhaps I might be justified in saying, in any part of the world, that has been more admired and celebrated than the fine gold and silver filigree of Sumatra. On the neigbouring island of Java where the Dutch had their trading capital at Batavia, the city had a reputation for its enamel work. See: Exhibition catalogue, Jan Veenendaal Asian Art and Dutch Taste, Gemeentemuseum in the Hague, 5th April-26th October, 2014.