A rare enameled octagonal stand, North India, Mughal period, early 18th century

Lot 1106. A rare enameled octagonal stand, North India, Mughal period, early 18th century; 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm.) wide, 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) high. Estimate: USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Raised on eight bulb-form legs with spreading feet, the sides flaring to the rim, all richly enameled in green, red, yellow and white with foliate motifs.

Provenance: Terence Mcinerney, Fine Arts Ltd., New York, 1 April 1998.
The Irving Collection, no. 3866.

Note: The enamel pattern and palette of colors seen on this rare, octagonal-form stand are identical to an early eighteenth-century huqqa base formerly in the Krishna Riboud Collection in Paris, illustrated by M. Zebrowski in Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India, London, 1997, p. 93, pl. 86. Both are decorated with a repetitive design of identical white and yellow flowers on a dark green ground within similar narrow borders comprising scrolling yellow floral vine. It is quite possible that the two are related and the present stand was made for this huqqa base. 

The enameling also finds comparison with two other objects – the first is a Mughal enameled dagger, dated circa 1700, sold at Christie’s, London, 13 October 1998, lot 113, and now in the Al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait, illustrated by Salam Kaaoukji in Precious Indian Weapons and other Princely Accoutrements, London, 2017, pp.98-99, no.29. The second is a well-known Mughal enameled gold jar and cover, similarly dated to circa 1700, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art (Zebrowski, ibid., no. 29, p.52). Although the place of production is not known for this group of objects, the colors and patterns are reminiscent of Mughal tilework. Zebrowski points out the similarity with the tilework of the shrine of Shaykh Bakhtiyar Kaki at Mehrauli in south Delhi which was refurbished by the Mughal Emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb (ibid., p.59).

Christie's. Lacquer, Jade, Bronze, Ink: The Irving Collection Evening Sale, New York, 20 March 2019