29th Oct, 2021 14:00

Islamic & Indian Art

 
  Lot 482
 

A COMMEMORATIVE SILVER SCROLL HOLDER DEDICATED TO THE NIZAM OF HYDERABAD
Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, Central India, dated February 1903

A COMMEMORATIVE SILVER SCROLL HOLDER DEDICATED TO THE NIZAM OF HYDERABAD
Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, Central India, dated February 1903

Of long cylindrical shape, with rounded terminals on each end, the exterior with dense silver repoussé decorative motifs honouring the artistic vocabulary traditionally associated with 19th-century British Raj Mumbai silver production, in the centre several overlapping diagonal strips showcasing village scenes and men and women at work, further roundels with villagers in their huts, nearby a river, and absorbed in their daily activities to the sides, the terminals with herding scenes around the sides, and roundels with villagers in their huts on each top, a rectangular dedicatory cartouche in the centre reading To H. H. The Nizam of Hydrabad GCB GCSI from The Anjuman-i Islam of Bombay - Address of Welcome, February 1903, 40.5cm long, 625gr.

This commemorative silver scroll holder is a precious historical witness of the geopolitical and social orders in place in India at the beginning of the 20th century, a crucial time when the seed of Modern India as we know it today was being planted. After the death of Queen Victoria, Empress of India, in January 1901, her son Albert Edward became King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and King of the British Dominions. The official coronation, however, did not take place until August 1902, and the Imperial Durbar in India until January 1903. The Durbar commemorating the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as Emperor and Empress of India was held in Delhi with a sumptuous ceremonial reception, meticulously devised by Lord Curzon and attended by the highest-ranking individuals in Indian society. Indian Maharajas and princes saw this as an opportunity to meet the new foreign Emperor in person and came adorned with the most spectacular gems from their collections. This was not only a party: it was a carefully planned political move to be in the graces of a distant monarch.

The Sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah VI, Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi GCB GCSI (17 August 1866 – 29 August 1911), to whom our scroll holder is dedicated, was among the distinguished personalities who attended the Durbar, having a close connection with Lord Curzon. He had a great vision for his state, fostering strong infrastructural changes and educational development to make Hyderabad one of the richest and most advanced states in India. Indeed, Asaf Jah VI was responsible for establishing the Hyderabad Medical College, a first in India, and under his guidance, 14 schools were developed in Hyderabad city and 141 schools in the rest of the district, reaching 1000 by the time of his death (B. Bhangya, "Between Tradition and Modernity: Nizams, Colonialism and Modernity in Hyderabad State", in Economic and Political Weekly, 2013, Issue 48, pp. 120–125).

Given his interest in education, it shouldn't surprise that this scroll holder was given to him directly by the Anjuman-i Islam of Mumbai, an Islamic intellectual and social welfare organisation first established in 1874 by a group of Muslim visionaries, intellectuals and politicians seeking to reform Muslim society and work on its development. One of the major efforts of this organisation was to establish a number of schools for Muslim girls and orphanages in Punjab. This scroll holder probably once contained documents related to the foundation's expansion plans of the schooling network in other Indian districts. The Address of Welcome title suggests a meeting between the organisation and the Nizam, adding an invaluable puzzle piece to the history of the development of modern India.

In a private UK collection for over thirty years.

Sold for £1,125

Includes Buyer's Premium


 

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