Indian Rosewater Sprinkler
India (Karimnagar, Deccan), 18th century
Silver filigree
29 cm high, 9.5 cm diameter
434 grams
29 cm high, 9.5 cm diameter
434 grams
A4377
Further images
The silver rosewater sprinkler is constructed of two layers. The inner layer of the spherical body of plain silver-gilt has been overlaid with a delicate filigree of floral openwork decoration. Rosewater sprinklers, gulabpash, originated in Persia but became popular in India and were especially used as a part of the courtly ritual. This finely executed rosewater sprinkler was made in Karimnagar during the 18th century. Other fine examples of Deccani filigree silver can be found on an exquisite toiletry set of Catherine The Great, including two filigree rosewater sprinklers, Deccan, circa 1740–50, in The State Hermitage Museum (Menshikova, p. 58).
Literature:
Menshikova, Silver: Wonders from the East, Filigree of the Tsars, Lund Humphries in association with The Hermitage Museum, Amsterdam, 2006.
Literature:
Menshikova, Silver: Wonders from the East, Filigree of the Tsars, Lund Humphries in association with The Hermitage Museum, Amsterdam, 2006.