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Lot 136

A large bronze fish Finial
Deccan, India, 17th Century

23 April 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £1,187.50 inc. premium

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A large bronze fish Finial
Deccan, India, 17th Century

with engraved scales, moulded tail and fins, a circular opening to top and bottom for fixture
29.5cm. long

Footnotes

According to Zebrowski, bronze pieces in the form of animals represent a rare tradition of non-religious figurative sculpture from a period when realistically rendered figures of any kind were generally avoided in deference to Muslim religious scruples. Naturalism associated with Mughal taste began to affect Deccani art in the late 16th Century (M. Zebrowski, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, London, 1997, pp. 96-97).

Another fish-shaped standard of the 17th Century is in the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait rendered in silver and partially gilded (M. Keene, Treasury of the World, London, 2001, pl. 8.30).

Additional information