CALCUTTA - A CASED INDIAN TEA CHEST / TEA CADDY
HAMILTON & CO, OF CALCUTTA, MID 20TH CENTURY
Estimate: £1,000 - £2,000
Auction: The Fiona Buchanan Indian Silver Collection | Wednesday 4th March at 10am
Description
Modelled as a tea chest, inscribed "Presented to Mr D R Morris on his retirement from India by his many friends in Assam 4th April 1959" also a map of India, "Pure India Tea" and many signatures with presentation case
Dimensions
17cm high
Provenance
Provenance: Thomson & Roddick, Edinburgh Oriental and Works of Art, lot 64, 28th Nov 2019
Footnote
Hamilton & Co are among the most recognisable names in Indian Colonial silver and were making many of the finest examples still extant of this fascinating period. Their style very much follows that of the British forms they left behind and while they do integrate and meld with local craftsmen and decoration it is there classically George III simple silver that is most commonly encountered.
It is quite apt therefore that a parting gift for an esteemed colleague would have been acquired at Hamilton & Co. The tea chest is accompanied by a note detailing all the subscribers whose facsimile signatures appear engraved on the chest and these were all members of various Assam gymkhana clubs in the Assam region; including Sonari Gymkhana Club, Nahahkutia Club, Jorhat Club, Nazira Club and Moran Club. The list is printed on Sonari Gymkhana letter headed paper dated, 4th April 1959.
Gymkhana clubs emerged during the British Raj in India for British expats to socialise and enjoy sporting events mainly equestrian. As an exclusive club, memberships offered high social networking for both business and pleasure. The Sonari Gymkhana Club was built in 1945 by the tea planters, with Assam, the largest tea producing state in India.
The chest is a wonderful culmination of the importance of tea to India and the importance of Mr. Morris to the Assam area and the British Raj.