Fit for a King

Collectors of fine things have been counting down to London-based auction house Sotheby’s fourth edition of the auction titled “Treasures,Princely Taste”,to be held today in London. On offer are European furniture and decorative works of art,many of which were once commissioned for rulers and dynasties such as the Medici family of Florence (founded in the 14th century and considered the richest family in Italy for many centuries),Napoleon Bonaparte and the 18th century maharajas of India. From a Thomas Chippendale pier table dating around 1772 to an exquisitely jewelled,gold-and-enamel automaton silkworm from 1810,the 49 pieces on exhibit display the craftsmanship of their time.

Three items in the lot have Indian lineage. On sale is an ormolu musical automata table clock casket (circa 1780) made for the then Maharaja of Hyderabad. Once a part of Gallerie Koller,Zurich’s private collection,the clock will go under the hammer for an estimated price ranging from approx Rs 3.3 crore to Rs 5 crore. A pair of elegant Anglo-Indian carved ivory orb ornaments (estimated between Rs 83 lakh and Rs 1.2 crore),is believed to have been carved in the late 18th century in Murshidabad.

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Dating back to the first half of the 17th century,the “Yerkes-Remarque” Mughal hunting carpet has been sourced from the prestigious Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection and is believed to be have been a part of the extensive carpet collection of the Maharaja of Jaipur. Expected to fetch between Rs 83 lakh and Rs 1.2 crore,this carpet was once owned by prominent private collectors of the late 19th and 20th centuries before entering the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection,which had become one of the world’s most important depositories of classical carpets in the late 20th century.