LONDON.- Roseberys London inaugural sale of Islamic & Indian Arts saw 370 items from the Islamic and Indian worlds go under the hammer at their London saleroom.

Roseberys Managing Director Ian Cadzow said: “As part of the continued expansion of Roseberys London we are very pleased to have held our first dedicated sale of Islamic & Indian Arts, with a second planned for October this year. It is an exciting time for Roseberys, with continued business development which will see us delivering an increased calendar of specialist sales in the next 12-18 months.”

Highlights from the auction include 16 Indian miniature paintings from a private London collector, which sold for a total of £34,268. Amassed between the late 1940s and late 1960s, the paintings included an opaque watercolour of the supreme deity, Krishna watching Gopis, a group of cow-herding ladies, washing. Indian miniatures are typically viewed as the precursor to modern Indian art, and this 18th century example is attributed to the world renowned Bundi School.

The school, based in the Hadoti (previously known as the Bundi Kingdom), was known for its Rajasthani style of Indian miniature painting throughout the 17th to the end of the 19th century. The delicate nature of the Mughal style is reflected in much of the work, which focuses on the subjects of hunting, court scenes, festivals, processions, animals, birds and scenes from the life Lord Krishna's. They were also created in

All the works in the collection came from the same vendor and had never before been offered for sale at public auction. Pre-sale interest set expectations high, and the lot sold to a private buyer on the telephone for £15,375. [Lot 70]

A stunning example of a 20th century glass mosque lamp decorated with gilt and enamel in the Mamluk style invokes the richness of the Mamluk Sultanate of the 14th Century. Prolific builders of religious buildings, lamps of this type would have been hung from the ceiling and lit with candles to shine light through the enamel and onto the walls of the mosque. The Malmuk style encompasses the quality and fineness of decoration found throughout the art and architecture of the Islamic world and this lot sold for £2,214. [Lot 5]

A second item, also in the Mamluk style, showed how popular these items are in the current Islamic market. The early 20th century decorated and enamelled twin handled glass vase sold for £1,968 against an estimate of £1,000 – 1,500. [Lot 3]

Elsewhere in the sale a rare and beautifully preserved 17th century Indo-Portuguese mother of pearl bowl was fiercely fought over by bidders in the room, online and on the telephone. Indo Portuguese items are a result of the Portuguese expansion to the orient in the 16th and 17th centuries. The hybrid of European shapes and oriental decoration established a new style which used raw materials such as teak, sissoo, ivory, ebony, silver and gilt copper from Asia. The bowl sold to a bidder in the room for £1,968. [Lot 268]