Title: Seal of Lt. Col. Paris Bradshaw
Date: dated 1222 AH (1807–8 AD; seal) and early 19th century (mount)
Location: north India, probably Awadh (seal) and Europe, possibly Britain (mount)
Materials: rectangular-cut emerald, engraved, foiled and mounted in chased gold
Dimensions: 1.6 x 2.2 cm (seal); 4.2 (height, mount)
Accession Number: TLS 2725
Other Notes:
This emerald seal was given by Sa‘adat ‘Ali Khan, the Nawab of Awadh (r 1798–1814) to the First Secretary and later Acting Resident for the East India Company at Lucknow, Lieutenant-Colonel Paris Bradshaw (circa 1766–1822) for his services to the court. The inscription, in fine nasta‘liq script, reads, Mustahfiz al-Dawlah Mudabbir al-Mulk Paris Bradshaw Bahadur Nasir Jang 1222 (‘Paris Bradshaw, Guardian of the State, Governor of the Kingdom, Conqueror in Battle, preserved by fortune 1222 [1807–8 AD]’).
The unmarked gold mount may have been commissioned when Bradshaw visited London in 1817.
Script:
inscribed in nasta‘liq script
Bibliography:
S. Vernoit, Occidentalism. Islamic Art in the 19th Century, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume XXIII, London 1997, cat.161, p.208.
P. Moura Carvalho, Gems and Jewels of Mughal India. Jewelled and enamelled objects from the 16th to 20th centuries, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume XVIII, London 2010, cat.44, p.118.
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