LONDON.- Bonhams will sell one of a very small number of surviving examples of Gujarati mother-of-pearl trays in its Islamic and Indian Art sale on October 6th.

The tray’s unique design depicts winged figures carrying birds or vessels. “Mother-of-pearl overlaid objects of this type are incredibly rare, but the presence of winged figures makes our tray rarer still,” said Oliver White, head of Bonhams Islamic and Indian Art Department. “There are no other recorded examples which feature angels and the fine quality of work and the exceptional condition of the tray make it a unique survivor outside museum collections.”

The angels suggest Persian, Indian and European influences. Strikingly similar imagery – of a winged figure in Persian dress holding a peacock – can be seen adorning the pavilions of Nur Jahan in the Ram Bagh at Agra. These paintings provide an approximate date for this tray and imply that the circumstances of its production may have been somewhat unusual. It seems the decorative scheme was intended for an Indian patron rather than for export to European or Turkish patrons, the general destination for most mother-of-pearl inlaid items.

Gujarat has been recognized as the centre of mother-of-pearl work since the beginning of the 16th century, when the King of Melinde presented Vasco de Gama with a gold and mother-of-pearl bedstead. This particular tray can be attributed to Northern Gujarat because of its characteristic mastic-inset and mother-of-pearl decorated domed cenotaph canopies.

Mother-of-pearl trays are listed among the spoils of the Lodi Sultans of Delhi, when they were captured by Emperor Babur in 1526, and are specifically mentioned as being delivered to the ladies at Kabul.