A rare and important mid-19th century Burmese unmarked silver bowl, Thayetmyo circa 1844-65

Of gently tapering cicular form, the body with finely chased decoration of zodiac symbols; Meittha, Pyeittha, Mei-don, Karakat, Thein, Kan, Tu, Pueitsa, Nu, Makaya, Kon and Mein, all within tessellated square vignettes. All against a latticework background inhabited with ellipses with alternative lattice ground. This central band between plain bands then chased scroll work and a band of foliate scrolls interspaced with rosettes. Gilt interior. The centre engraved with a coat of arms with another on an escutcheon of pretence between supporters of dragons reguardant holding in the interior forepaw a dart, with motto below Deum Cole Regem Serva, all surmounted by an Earl’s coronet. The underneath with engraved circular lotus and central circle.

Diameter – 19.2 cm / 7.6 inches

Height – 12.4 cm / 4.9 inches

Weight – 857 grams / 27.55 ozt

The arms and motto are for Cole with Casamajor on an escutcheon of pretence

For Rt. Hon. William Willoughbly Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen (1807-1886) who married Jane Casamajor (1815-1855) on 16th Jan 1844. Cole assumed the Earldom upon the death of his father John Willoughby Cole (1768-1840), the 2nd Earl, on the 31st March 1840, whom had married Lady Charlotte Paget (1781-1817), 4th daughter of Henry 1st Earl of Uxbridge and Jane Champagne. They resided at Florence Court, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland (seat of the Earl’s of Enniskillen until 1973) and had issue. William was an important early palaeontologist. Jane Casamajor was the eldest of three daughters of James Archibald Casamajor HEICS (1787-1863) and Mary Christian Paterson (India 1789/92 – d. between 1820 and 1834), daughter of Lieut Col. Thomas Paterson (d.1810).

A blotter emblazoned with an impaled version of this coat of arms is in Florence Court (NT630941), it is unclear why these bowls have the Casamajor arms on an escutcheon of pretence (reserved for an heiress), as Jane had two married sisters with issue; Mary Christian Ram (b.1817) and Elizabeth Christian Gaussen (1821-1864). This coat of arms would have been valid from 1844 until 1865 when the 3rd Earl married again. A drawing of Jane Casamaijor circa 1843 by Andrea Fleissner is in the collection Florence Court, County Fermanagh (NT630548), as well as a portrait miniature of her, British school (NT630890). Also, a portrait of the 3rd Earl circa 1830 by William Robinson (1799–1839), same collection (NT 631078).

James Archibald Casamajor or Casamaijor was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in 1787 to James Henry Casamajor (1745-1815) and Elizabeth Rebecca Campbell, he was resident in Mysore from 1825-33, then Travancore (24 Jun 1833 – 1836) and Cochin (1836-1838). He entered the East India Company's service as a writer in 1803, in various other roles before taking over as registrar in Srirangapatna in 1809 and later became a judge there. On the 11th May 1832 he was appointed a member of council of Fort St George. Casamaijor left Travancore for ‘the hills’, presumably of Nilgiris (The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany vol 16 January-April 1835, London: Wm. H. Allen & Co, p. 247). Casamajor was a highly reputed judge in Madras, known for philanthropy. They had returned to London by 1839 residing at Manchester Square (The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany vol 30 Sep-Dec 1839, London: Wm. H. Allen & Co, p. 64).

It is possible that this bowl was part of the Casamajor family collection, then used during the 1840’s for christening the various children of the Cole/Casamajor marriage. That or this bowl and the preceding lot are from the 3rd Earl’s own collection. A bowl of similar form with vignette panels representing the eight days of the week (Gyo-shit-yon), 8 cm high, ascribed to Thayetmyo circa 1885 is illustrated in Wilkinson, W., (1999)., Indian Silver 1858-1947: Decorative Silver from the Indian Sub-Continent and Burma Made by Local Craftsmen in Western Forms. London, Wynyard R T Wilkinson, P.47. Zodiac decoration is also found in the Shan States of Burma, this form of bowl and type of decoration was also adopted in domestic British silversmithing from the 1860’s, which may be a result of the 1862 International exhibition. The style was frequently used for the production of tea sets in Scotland, whereby it is believed to have been further popularised at the 1888 Glasgow international exhibition. One of the earliest known adoptions of this style is a three-piece tea set with zodiac Burmese style decoration, marked for Edinburgh 1865 by D.C Rait of Glasgow, sold Bonham’s Edinburgh, 29 Aug 2012, Lot 216 (£1,187, inc. premium).

This bowl with its important heraldry ascribes it as one of the earliest instances of this form of decoration in the United Kingdom, and as a potential precursor to the style subsequently adopted in the second half of the 19th century.