Oliver White
Head of Department
Lot 106
A gold mounted engraved carnelian Seal belonging to General Sir Arnold Burrowes Kemball Persia, dated AH 1258/ AD 1842
23 April 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street£3,000 - £5,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our Islamic and Indian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
A gold mounted engraved carnelian Seal belonging to General Sir Arnold Burrowes Kemball
Persia, dated AH 1258/ AD 1842
Persia, dated AH 1258/ AD 1842
of octagonal form, engraved with three bands of inscription in nastaliq, the gold mount with inlaid ruby in a setting in the form of a cluster of flames, the hinged and rotating fob in the form of an openwork palmette
2.6 x 2.1 cm.
2.6 x 2.1 cm.
Footnotes
Inscription: 'There is no god but The God, the King, the Truth that makes all things manifest. His (God's) servant Kemball Arnold Burrowes 1258 (1842)'.
General Sir Arnold Burrowes Kemball was a British army officer who took part in the First Afghan War, the Persian War, the Serbian-Ottoman War and the Russo-Turkish War. He was also the British representative in the Persian Gulf and Consul at Baghdad.
Born in Bombay in 1820 he was educated in England, but returned to India in 1837 where he joined the Bombay Presidency's Artillery as a second lieutenant. Following the first Afghan War (1839 - 1842), he became the Assistant Resident for the British Government at Bushehri in south west Iran, when it is likely that he had this seal made. He would later go on to become acting Consul General in Baghdad, and was appointed the official attendant to the Shah of Persia on his visit to England in 1873. After the Russo-Turkish War he became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and was promoted to General in 1880.