A STRIKING PAIR OF QAJAR CUERDA-SECA POTTERY TILES: COURTIERS IN A GARDEN AND POLO PLAYERS
PERSIA, 19TH CENTURY
Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000
Auction: 11 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
each of rectangular form and decorated in portrait format on a bright yellow ground, one depicting five courtiers in a garden with flowers and water features, two Chinese-inspired cloud scrolls above, the other depicting a game of polo with two horse riders in mid-play scrambling over balls, and three below with their sticks raised above, against a floral landscape, framed
Dimensions
each 32cm x 23cm; framed 37.5cm x 28cm
Footnote
Produced in the cuerda-seca (dry cord) technique, the present pair of tiles depict courtiers having a conversation in a garden and polo players on horseback. The yellow in the background gives a striking look to the pair. Both tiles belong to a much-favoured category found in many pieces of Qajar art, the depiction of courtly life and its activities. Polo, chawgan in Persian, was a game very much enjoyed by the royals in Persia and central Asia. It was introduced to India primarily by Persianate courts. The Mughals played a significant role in spreading polo in India, and it was later adopted as ‘polo’ by the British during the British Raj in the 1850s.