Glazed earthenware water-bottle and stopper, Bombay School of Art, 19th century

Water-bottle and stopper of reddish earthenware designed with flowers and leaves.

Purchased from Lady Ilbert, The Speaker's Court, Palace of Westminster

Part of a collection selected by John Lockwood Kipling (1837-1915) for Lady Ilbert, wife of Sir Courtenay Ilbert (1841-1924), who accompanied her husband to India in 1882 when he was appointed legal advisor to the Viceroy, Ist Marquis of Ripon, returning home in 1886. The examples were all of wares either made by Indian craftsmen working in the traditional centres of Delhi, Rampur, Khurja, Halla and Multan, or of items made at the Bombay School of Art, whose ceramic output was heavily influenced by the products of these indigenous potters. The collection was formed to provide a good representation of the shapes, colours and pottery techniques that were employed. Sir Courtenay became Clerk of the House at the Palace of Westminster where he had a residence in Speaker's Court. The collection was displayed by Lady Ilbert on two ebonised brackets, each holding half the collection of some hundred pieces. I.M. 6-1921 to I.M. 106-1921 were purchased for £25.

Purchased from Lady Ilbert, The Speaker's Court, Palace of Westminster. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project.

R.P. 1921/958

Bombay School of Art

IM.76-1921