Ritual Indian Silver Bowl

Ritual Double-Walled Repoussed Silver Pouring Bowl

This highly unusual high-grade silver bowl comprises two bowls with one fitting neatly into the other. The outer bowl is very finely repoussed with ten avatars of Vishnu and ten animal figures, all amid very finely chased scrolling foliage. It sits on a low ring foot. The inner bowl is plain and spherical but with a rolled rim.

It is likely that the outer bowl served as a rest or holder for the inner bowl which contained water. The inner bowl was lifted from the outer bowl and used its water used to bathe Hindu idols that were kept on a household shrine.

The styling of the figures is reminiscent of colonial Madras ‘swami’ silverware other than for the fact that the figures are identifiable rather than being stylised, and the repousse and chasing work is of a far higher standard than typically observed with colonial Madras work.

UK art market