Draft:Silver Art in India

• Comment: The article is interesting and has potential but it needs to be more encyclopedic. Also, is it accurate that there was no silver art produced in India prior to the 16th century? That seems like an exceptional claim but I'm not well versed in Indian art history. BuySomeApples (talk) 02:37, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

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Silver art was introduced in India around the 16th century when the Mughal Empire was ruling India.. The imported silver bullion is believed to have been quickly melted and transformed into rupees, as the silver coinage was introduced in 1540. The silver was influxed from the Spanish-American mines and is thought to have primarily flowed through Europe, with a portion extending across the Pacific. The inflow of silver affected the economy of the Mughal Empire, and money supply, prices, and taxation in later India as well.

Silver Art in Madras

While numerous Indian silversmiths did not stamp with hallmarks on their creations, British Colonial silversmiths, alongside notable native smiths acknowledged for their skill, did imprint their work. Since the 1860s, silver objects embossed with the marker’s mark ‘Orr’ or ‘P.Orr & Sons’ had become a feature of Madras’s Swami silver production, both marks belong to the family business established by Peter Nicholas Orr, who originally hailed from London as a watchmaker. Swami silver plate is focused on intricately chased ‘heathen deities’, which held a strangely anomalous position in India and abroad during the late 19th century. During the British Raj era, the silverware from Madras earned the moniker “Swami silver” due to its decorative motifs centered around gods and the festive celebration of sacred processions

There were a great deal of silver teapots and teacups produced during this period. Not only a single teapot or teacup, there also was a multiple-piece tea service. The Hexagonal-Shape Tea Service with Elephant Spout was made in 1890, in Madras, India, is a unique design since the hexagonal shape is rarely dealt with in Indian colonial silver. The items in this set showcase intricately crafted scenes of deities engaged in different dance, meditative, and martial postures through impressive répoussé and chased work. Among the figures depicted is Matsya, the fish manifestation of Lord Vishnu, depicted with a multiheaded, undulating fan. Another representation is Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, positioned near the teapot’s elephant spout.. Another five-piece tea service from 1876, consisted of not only a tray holding a covered hot water pot and a teapot but also an additional milk jug and a sugar bowl. This also has the incised work featuring Vishnu and his avatars, and a few other deities

Claret Jug which was also popularly produced in this era has a significant meaning in silver art as well. The Claret Jug is crafted in accordance with English preferences, potentially intended for connoisseurs. The body features a horizontally chased band depicting Hindu deities within circular cartouches.. Another claret jug that was made in 1863 also has a similar design, which has a single decorative band around the vase-shaped lower half, which also features a different Hindu deity. Both of the jug’s handles are a serpent, adorned with a textured scale design, which raises its hooded head against the simple hinged lid, as if in defiance of the agile snake charmer. The charmer plays a pipe that has enticed the serpent into the jug.Not only considerably big pieces but there also were small cutleries made during this period. Furthermore, the 24-Piece Swami Fruit Service consists of 12 forks and 12 knives, each piece is intricately engraved and adorned with distinct depictions of Hindu deities, Indian daily life, as well as animals and plants. The design of each item is distinctive, ensuring that no pattern is replicated. The number of forks and knives was influenced by Europe and Colonial India at the time since a diverse set of cutlery, plates, and wine glasses was needed for each of the twelve or thirteen courses. A Dessert Service of 92 Pieces in a Glazed Ebonized Wood Cabinet exceptionally had an additional six large spoons, labeled berry spoons, and two nutcrackers other than regular cutleries. The cabinet, which is uncommon as well, has different kinds of cutleries in each drawer and also has carrying handles of silver on two sides Moreover, two antique silver spoons - which are identified as fruit spoons - is engraved with Indian deities. As a customary for P.Orr & Sons, where those spoons were made, each piece is unique with different gods, symbol, and ornamentation on both spoon’s bowls and handles. Each bowl boasts gilding and distinct engravings of various deities. The stems or handles exhibit diversity, and a vast array of finals depict gods like the dancing Shiva, Krishna’s victory over the serpent Kaliya, Vishnu’s Matsya avatar, and even temple models. On other flatware art pieces, they denoted a god, goddess, lord, master, husband, distinguished person, or a lover. This significant and undoubtedly costly project was skillfully carried out by P.Orr & Sons, and represents an extravagant if startling combination of British form with Indian design.

Beyond these pieces, there are many more pieces such as silver cups, goblets, trophies, tea caddies, serving trays, jugs, and so on. The common factor of these art pieces is that they depict intricate designs, including animals and Hindu deities in various dance, meditative, and warlike positions. The art of silver in India affected Chinese ceramics. The shapes and poses of the silver bowl from Buddhigara in northern India bear a resemblance to the figure depicted in Chinese ceramics. They both have stucco decorating Buddhist monuments and small terracotta fragments.