Language: English
Source: Antique object

Description

The name Bhagvan Khoosal appears on the inside rim of an Indian hide shield, called dhal.

The full marking, done in gold pigment on red lacquer, reads:

"SHIELDMAKER BHAGVAN KHOOSAL DHALCAR STREET AHMEDABAD BOMBHV PRESIDENCY INDIA"

The maker

Other shields turned up with the name Khoosal on it. One was published in Runjeet Singh's Spring 2017 catalog. It was signed on the outer rim, in red:

"Khooshal Dhunjee & Sons Painter and Shield Maker
Dhalgarwada Street City Ahmedabad Bombay Presidency India"

Another, now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, accession number 2015.695, was signed:

"Khooshal Dhunjee & Sons
Painter and Shield makers
Dhalgarwada Street
City Ahmedabad
Bombay Presidency / India."

Location

Ahmedabad is a city in Gujarat, northwest India, that was once famous for its shield making. Dhalcar Street still exists, and the word dhal in the name probably refers to its history as a shield making area.

A somewhat comparable shield, also from Gujarat, was presented to King Edward VII, when Prince of Wales, during his tour of India in 1875-76 by Mohammad Zorowar Khanji, Nawab of Balasinor. It is now in the Royal Collection, accession number RCIN 38128.

Period

The Bombay Precidency was an administrative subdivision of British India between 1843 to 1936, which provides us a time-frame within which the shield must have been made.