Islamic and Indian art from a Private Collection in Rome and other provenances. In partnership with BAIAS Arte.

Voyage pittoresque de Constantinople et des rives du Bosphore

Six scenes of city life

Brussels, 19th century

Six lithographs made by different artists and printed in Brussels at Goubaud's Royal Chalcography. The following early lithographs originate from the second edition of Melling's renowned work, 'Voyage pittoresque de Constantinople et des rives du Bosphore,' published by Goubaut in Brussels in 1822 (first edition: Paris 1819). Melling's stunning views are widely regarded as some of the finest ever printed of the Constantinople area. In this edition, the plates have been re-engraved in a smaller format.

cm 34.5x48

After Cornelis de Bruyn, Colour engraving representing a view of Istanbul
18th century
Panoramic view from the Bosphorus of the city of Constantinople with the districts of Pera and Galata. Watercoloured engraving by hand.
35x103 cm

View of Constantinople from the harbour
Austria (?) Early 19th century
Panoramic view of the Ottoman Capital with indications of the main viewpoints.
13.5 X 65 cm

Antoine Ignace Melling (1763-1831). Marche Solemnelle du Grand-Seigneur
Francia, 1819
Elephant folio, by Duplessi-Bertaux and Reville from the First Edition of the 'Voyage pittoresque de Constantinople'. The etching depicting the Sultan's Solemn March on Bairam Day based on a drawing by Antoine Ignace Melling (1763-1831).
cm 104.5 X 66

Prospect of the Great Seraglio from Galata
England, 18th century
Watercoloured etching with a view of the Great Sultan's Seraglio, St. Sophia and the Asian coast.
H. 15.5 X 37 cm

View of Istanbul
France (?) 17th century
Bird's eye view of the Ottoman capital from the Bosphorus. Litograph by Leblond.
cm 27x45

Three hammam clogs
Ottoman Turkey, 19th century
Three bath clogs (one pair and one unpaired) made of wood with floral mother-of-pearl inlays and silver thread.
H. 9 X L. 25 cm

Painted and gilded wooden Ottoman bow
Ottoman Turkey, 19th century
Finely decorated with floral elements and arabesques on a red, black and green background.
88 cm

Painted alabaster folding Qur'an holder
India, 19th century
The exterior painted with red and green floral elements with gold details. The stone carved on the feet to form poly-lobed arches and with latticed openwork decoration on the other end. Interior painted in red with green border.
30 x 17,5 cm (chiuso)

A large mother-of-pearl gunpowder flask
Northwest India, Gujarat, 18th century
In the form of a horn, made from a shell (gastropod), cylindrical section decorated with triangular and rectangular mother-of-pearl tesserae arranged to form chevrons and geometric decorations on the body and a large concentric eight-pointed star on the lid. Carved wooden handle with vegetal motifs.
H. 18 X L. 13 X 8.5 cm ca.

Large painting depicting the life of Pabuji (Pabuji Ki Phad)
Northern India, Rajasthan, late 19th-early 20th century
Tempera on cloth, depicting the heroic deeds of Pabuji, revered as the incarnation of a deity. A popular Rajasthana deity, the legend of Pabuji is narrated through a traditional art of storytelling called Phad whose artists create these long historiated depictions (Pabuji Ki Phad), to be used during musical performances. Long devanagari inscription above the charcater. Currently the market is saturated with modern and reduced reproductions, though this specimen is definitely ancient and for devotional use. For further reading see John D. Smith, The Epic of Pabuji: A Study, Transcription and Translation, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
4.54 X 1.42 m

Large painting on cloth depicting the Mahabharata
India, Deccan, 19th century
Long depiction of one of India's most famous epic poems, mainly focusing on the Kurukshetra War and the stories of the Kuru and Pandavas dynasties for the throne of the kingdom of Hastinapura.Originally written in Sanskrit, the poem comprises more than 100,000 verses, making it one of the longest epic poems in the world. Tradition attributes its authorship to Vyasa, a sage who supposedly lived around 1500 BC.Among the most famous passages depicted here are: Abhimanyu's death and Arjuna's prayer to Durga before the great battle. For more details see: Bibek Debroy, The Illustrated Mahabharata. The definitive guide to India's Greatest Epic, New York, 2017.
H. 11.93 X L. 1.03 m

Large marble sculpture of Ganesh
India, 20th century
Large sculpture depicting the elephantine-headed deity in partially gilded and painted marble. Ganesh is seated in rajalilasana and is adorned with important jewellery. Damages.
55×17×30 cm

Large painted and gilded alabaster sculpture of Nandi
Northern India, 19th century
Large sculpture depicting Shiva's vehicle, adorned with a necklace and precious vestments.
22 X 33 cm

Gilded and painted alabaster water pipe base (huqqa)
Northern India, 19th century
With a typical globular shape, the exterior painted in red, green and gold with latticed plant elements containing a flower.
22 X 17 cm

Painting on cloth depicting a Hindu subject
Southeast Asia, 19th century
Tempera on cotton, possibly depicting an episode from the Ramayana in which the boatman Guha helps Rama navigate the river Ganges.
44 X 39 cm

Painting on cloth depicting Krishna with Gopies
India, 20th century
Tempera on cloth depicting Krishna and Radha in the centre, inside a boat on a lake and Krishna with water bearers on either side of the composition.
H. 50 x 180 cm

Illustrated manuscript
Northern India, 20th century
Text in Urdu on paper arranged on a single column and interspersed with paintings bordered with gold thread. The text appears to be Hindu, Krishnaite.
H. 21 X 13.5 cm

Composite illustrated folio depicting Viraha defeating the demon
India, 19th - 20th century
Composed of Persian text and depiction of Viraha defeating the demon Hiranyaksha on the left. The margins illuminated with mountains on a multicoloured floral background. 11 lines of text in Persian on paper, in shikaste calligraphy written in black and red ink with golden spacing.
H. 35 cm X L. 49.7

A pottery begger¿s bowl (Kashkul) Qajar Iran, 19th century
Alms bowl with figurative, plant and zoomorphic decoration.
H. 13.5 X L. 28.5 cm

Two cylindrical bone boxes with silver fittings
India, 19th century
Worked in the manner of Indo-Portuguese mother-of-pearl items, these with bone tesserae arranged to form radial and geometric decorations.
H. 6 X D. 11.6 cm

Small bone plaque with religious inscription
Near East, early 20th century
Talismanic bone carving with Arabic inscription in relief and mirrored arrangement. Within wooden frame.
Inscription: Ya Alim.
H. 12 X L. 14.2 cm (without frame)

Carved alabaster plaque
India, 19th century
Decorative plaque, possibly originally a cover, central protruding umbo carved with petals and framed by a wide decorative band with felines interspersed with cartouches containing plant elements and antelopes at the four corners.
30 X 30 cm
14 kg

A Khorasan-style zoomorphic bronze ewer
Afghanistan, 20th century
Ribbed body, resting on a high foot, neck in the shape of a ram. Decorated with inscriptions and floral elements inlaid with copper and silver threads.
H. 33.5 X D. 11 cm