This five-piece silver tea and coffee set was made in Bombay (Mumbai) in the late 19th century. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, there were several styles of silversmithing in India. Bombay, India’s primary city during the Raj period of British colonial rule (1858–1947), became a melting pot for these silversmithing styles, as craftsmen from around the country settled there. In this set, the tall coffee pot features dramatic hunting scenes typical of Lucknow silver, while the other objects depict Hindu deities in circular medallions – a motif characteristic of Swami silver from Madras (Chennai).
This area on India’s Eastern coast is known for its many Hindu temples and festival processions with portable images of deities, referred to as ‘swami’, a word denoting god or a highly revered person. Decoration in Swami silver revolves around depictions of gods and processions. Some common iconographic themes include the ten avatars of Vishnu. This set includes deities depicted with four arms; a concept called Chaturbhuja, used to signify the sublime powers of the gods, and their dominion over the four quarters of the universe. Many of the deities appear to be holding a conch shell. Known as a shankha, the trumpet shell is an attribute of Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, and is emblematic of the sacred Om mantra.
Western style silver tea services like this one were often created for British consumers in India, for whom the decorative value of the iconography was likely more important than the sacred meaning. Tea and coffee services combining motifs in the Swami style with elephant head spouts and handles were quite popular during the 19th century, for example a Bhicajee & Co Bombay Silver milk jug in the Paul Walter collection (Vidya Dehejia, Delight in Design, 2008, 214). Indian silversmiths responding to British demand for silver objects combined European style forms like those used in the afternoon tea service, with distinctive regional motifs.
