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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Style of silverware from Madras, India}}<br />
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[[File:Jug with Hindu procession, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, c. 1890 - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC09645.JPG|thumb|Jug with a Western shape, with Hindu scenes in ''[[Repoussé and chasing|repoussé]]'', c. 1890, [[Chennai]]]]<br />
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'''Swami silver''' is the name given to a distinctive style of [[household silver|silverware]] that originated in the South Indian city of [[Chennai]] (then called Madras) under the [[British Raj]]. It is characterised by figures of [[Hindu deities]]. A variety of designs emerged these included: trays, tea sets, [[tankard]]s, jugs, goblets, ewers, trophies and visiting card cases called Swami, meaning God in [[Tamil language|Tamil]], from its depiction of deities.<br />
[[File:Child's mug, P. Orr & Sons, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, c. 1890 - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC09646.JPG|thumb|Child's mug, with Hindu scenes, [[P. Orr & Sons]], Chennai, Tamil Nadu, c. 1890]]<br />
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Swami silver was pioneered and [[Popularity|popularised]] by an English company, [[P.Orr & Sons]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shapiro |first=Neil |date=2021 |title=Match Safes from India |url=https://matchsafescholar.com/assets/pdfs/articles/Match_Safes_from_India.pdf |website=International Match Safe Association}}</ref> The Orr brothers, Peter and Alexander, arrived in Madras from Scotland in 1843. They made their initial fortune by selling ice, before joining the watchmaker George Gordon & Co. When Gordon retired in 1849, they took over the business and diversified into [[gold]], [[Diamond (gemstone)|diamonds]] and silverware. The [[jewellery]] business closed in 1944 at the height of The [[Second World War]]. The company went back to its original business of selling watches.<br />
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In 1875, and when the [[Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale|Prince of Wales]] visited [[India]] in 1876, they were commissioned to make special ceremonial gifts by various [[maharaja]]s. The maharajas of [[Indore]] and [[Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency|Baroda]] had tea services made, while the maharaja of [[Kochi|Cochin]] commissioned a complete dessert service. In 1876, P Orr and Sons was designated as "Manufacturing [[Jewellery|Jewellers]], Gold and Silversmiths to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, By Special Appointment".{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} The silversmiths who worked in their atelier were initially British, but soon Indian craftsmen became better in this work. Swami silver combined [[English language|English]] form with Hindu motifs and was characterized by extraordinary attention to detail. The deities were fashioned in exceptionally crisp high relief achieved by brilliant ''[[Repoussé and chasing|repoussé]]'', and included [[Rama]], [[Krishna]], [[Shiva]], [[Ganesha]], [[Hanuman]] and [[Lakshmi]]. Many pieces were monogrammed "ORR & Sons, Madras.", "P. Orr & Sons of Madras," or just "ORR". <br />
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Competition began emerging for P Orr and Sons, mainly in [[Bangalore]] and [[Tiruchirappalli]]. The first was [[Krishnaiah]] Chetty & Sons in Bangalore. Though highly prized for its ornate design, swami silver had critics in [[England]] for the excessive use of Hindu motifs. Omarsi Maoji of [[Kutch]] cashed in on this demand for [[Secularity|secular]] designs and their version of swami silver featured more animals and birds and fewer gods.<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Indian art]]<br />
[[Category:British India]]<br />
[[Category:Silversmithing]]</div>RuebenFrankfurte