Teacup and Saucer

China

Qing dynasty (1644-1912), Kangxi period (1662-1722), About 1700

See More of the Collection

The Footbridge Pont at Benten Shrine in Shiba, Kawase Hasui, ink and color on paper
According to the hallmark “O.M. Bhuj,” this unusual and exquisitely designed tea service was designed by Oomersi Mawji the elder. On the top of the teapot’s hinged lid is a coiled cobra, forming the lid’s finial, and the teapot handle has ivory insulators. Each piece has a cube form, and each of the four sides of the sugar and creamer bears a hunting scene against a background of foliate coriander and fluttering birds. These are the sort of beautifully rendered designs Mawji is known for. What makes this service unique is two features: the extraordinary elegantly caparisoned elephant heads that make up the handles for all three pieces—the accuracy of the detail going so far as to depict the tusks trimmed in the manner of domesticated elephants—and the scenes on two of the four sides of the teapot: One is a horseman whose mount is being attacked by a tiger; the other, a caparisoned elephant who, at the moment he captured in silver, seems to be getting the best of a tiger who has attacked him. Usually, Mawji’s animal scenes show either domesticated animals—or wild animals in combat with one another. It is unusual for him to portray a domesticated animal in combat with a wild animal, although such incidents must have occurred both during hunts and long, cross-country treks.
floral
floral