A PARCEL-GILT SILVER FILIGREE ROSEWATER SPRINKLER (GULABPASH)
Cuttack, Orissa, Eastern India, 19th century

Of typical flattened drop-like shape, on a raised hemispherical openwork foot, rising to sloping shoulders and a ringed neck with a faceted tapering stem, the finial at the top worked as a floral bouquet with seven rosette heads, the filigree decoration on the body consisting of a central medallion filled with rosettes and foliage, the borders with lush flower heads and vegetal sprays, the foot with palmette leaves also repeated on the neck and stem, 31cm high, 360gr.

For a very similar Cuttack silver filigree sprinkler, please see cat. 96 in Christiane Terlinden Serra, Mughal Silver Magnificence 16th - 19th centuries, Brussels, 1987, p. 86. Both sprinklers showcase the incredible skilfulness of Orissan silversmiths in the art of tarakasi (silver filigree typical of Eastern Indian territories), producing proper three-dimensional filigree decorations. An almost identical sprinkler successfully sold at Christie's South Kensington, 24 April 2015, lot 59.