Lot 139
A BOMBAY SCHOOL OF ARTS POTTERY DISH WITH FIGURES
INDIA, BOMBAY, CIRCA 1880
Auction: 09 December 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
of shallow form with slightly flaring sides on a short foot, slip-painted in polychrome and decorated with central ruler-style figure flanked by two attendants holding chauries, along with a wide radial register populated by a series of distinct figures depicting various Indian trades, characters, or cultural activities, intact
Dimensions
37cm diameter
Provenance
Private London collection.
Footnote
This dish is a fine example of Bombay pottery, produced in the workshop at the Bombay School of Art established in 1872 by its superintendent, George Wilkins Terry. Founded in 1853 by the Parsi patron Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy and later directed by Lockwood Kipling, the school became an important centre for ceramic production. Terry introduced techniques from Sindh, a region with a long-established ceramic tradition, whose distinctive floral motifs influenced the decoration of Bombay ceramics. Vessels were thrown by Sindhi potters and decorated by the school’s students. By 1875–76, these wares were known as Wonderland Art Pottery, or “Terryware”, and were exported to leading London dealers and exhibited internationally as production expanded through the late nineteenth century.