A PAIR OF ANTIQUE INDIAN SILVER CANDLESTICKS, COBRAS, RAJ, KUTCH, CIRCA 1900 

Silver from the Kutch (Cutch) region of India was probably the most famous of the various Indian regional styles.  The Maharajas of Kutch gave a lot of help to the silversmiths living there, commissioning silver from them for their own use and sending it out as gifts.  They also encouraged and sponsored some of them to attend various prominent national and international exhibitions and ensured that the country’s silver wares were always well represented and exhibited to great effect.  As a result, Kutch silver work became very well known in the UK and was regarded as being of very high quality. 

These charming Kutch candlesticks are in the form of cobras, the coiled tails of the snakes form the base of the sticks and the elevated hooded heads of the cobras each support a lotus flower bearing the cups, chased to resemble the lotus, hold the candles. 

The details of the scales on the snakes’ skin and the muscular striations on its body have been picked out in the chasing. The body unscrews from the base, allowing for easier storage.

Condition  -  Very good 

Size  -  Height 13 cms, Width 8.5 cms (approx) 

Weight  -  248 grammes 

Please email me with any queries, thank you for looking and please have a look at the other items of interesting Indian silver I am listing.