AN INDIAN-COLONIAL SILVER HUQQA BASE
Probably Hamilton & Co, Calcutta, East India, mid-19th century

Of fluted bell form, resting on a plain circular base with centring point, the body and neck decorated with finely chased borders of roses, stylised thistles, and foliage, against a textured ground, unmarked, 18.8cm high x 21.3cm diam., weighs 1331 grams.

A hookah base marked for Hamilton and Co circa 1860 is illustrated Wilkinson W., The Makers of Indian Colonial Silver, (1987), London: W.R.T. Wilkinson., p. 87.

The example illustrated uses a different schema of decoration; embossed as opposed to chased flower heads, interspaced by lobed sections and lattice work reserves. These features are much more in common the wider silverware produced by Hamilton and Co for the British colonial residents, other marked examples include a hookah set (private collection) marked for Lattey Brothers and Co (active 1842-55), which again combines typical western ornamentation upon this distinctly Indian form, this time utilising embossed swags and lion masks.

The use of finely chased ‘fleshy’ roses, with prominent foliate scrolls against a textured ground is often associated with the firms of William Henry Twentyman last operating circa 1854. A mug with slim bands of this decoration by Twentyman & Company is illustrated in Wilkinson W., Indian Colonial Silver – European Silversmiths in India and their marks (1790-1860), (1973), London: W.R.T. Wilkinson., p. 139, A.176. A covered mug showing bolder bands of this form of decoration also by Twentyman & Co sold Doyle, New York, 31 Oct 2018, Lot 295.