Lot 77
A RARE SILVER ROSEWATER SPRINKLER WITH THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE ROYAL STATE OF NAMUDAG
INDIA, EARLY 18TH CENTURY
Auction: 10 December 2025 from 14:00 GMT
Description
the body in the shape of a stylised bird, with flowerhead finial extending from the mouth and lotus-petalled stopper at the back, the arms of the Namudag Raj on the breast
Dimensions
17.5cm high, 253.4 gr. weight
Footnote
Formed from solid silver, this superb rosewater sprinkler takes the form of a stylised bird, possibly representing a hamsa. This is a mythical aquatic bird, sometimes identified as a duck or goose, although the present example lacks the comb with which the hamsa is normally shown [Untracht, O., Traditional Jewellery of India, Thames and Hudson, 2008, p. 266].
The Namudag Rajas are descended from the Surwar Rajputs and established their rule in the Palamu region (south of Varanasi, in the modern state of Jharkand) after being driven out by the attacks of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Raja Namudag (r. 1687-1703) established the Raj named after him. This gulabpash, which would have been used to perfume wash and perfume hands before eating, prominently displays the arms of this dynasty and would have been made under the rule of Raja Namudag himself, or his successor Raja Baidhnath Singh (r. 1703-40).