A LARGE PARCEL-GILT SILVER REPOUSSÉ ROSEWATER SPRINKLER (GULABPASH)
Lucknow, Punjab, North India, 18th century

Of typical flattened drop-like shape, on a raised, stepped foot, rising to a waisted, ringed neck, the elongated stem worked in the form of a winged apsara, the Indian equivalent of Islamic fairies (peri and huri), clad in an Indian sari, the pierced top finial worked as a floral bouquet rising from a crown of leafy palmettes, the repoussé decoration on the body portraying a mirror image of two lions attacking two elephants with their trunks raised and curled up amidst floral bloom and lush vegetal tendrils, 38cm high.

An almost identical sprinkler was successfully sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2019, lot 283. Other similar examples were also sold at Christie's South Kensington, 24 April 2015, lot 61 and Bonhams London, 30 April 2019, lot 155.