P. Orr & Sons -- Swami Silver

[dognose]

When the Prince of Wales made his official visit to India in 1876 he was bombarded with gifts from grateful Maharajahs. The gift, it was said, that pleased the Prince the most was a tea service presented by His Highness the Gackwar of Baroda. The service, made in the Swami style was commissioned from P. Orr & Sons of Madras.

Swami silver was a speciality of the Orr workshops, its origins lie in the native made silver of the south of India, embosed and chased scenes of Hindu gods and deities were a popular subject of decoration with members of the Raj.

Below are P. Orr & Sons advertisements from 1876 for their range of Swami silver products.













Trev.

[dognose]

An advertisement from P. Orr & Sons, Rangoon Branch.


P. Orr & Sons - Rangoon - 1903

The Rangoon branch, I believe, closed after being looted by Japanese troops when they occupied Burma during WWII. It is said that just prior to the invasion, the store manager selected the finest pieces from the stock and walked, carrying the stock on his back, all the way to the Orr's Head Office in Madras. After hostilities ceased Orr's were represented in Burma by an agency only.

It is also said that it was in the workshops of the Rangoon Branch of Orr's that that the development of the 'Oyster' watch movement took place for Rolex.

The Rangoon workshops produced their own version of 'Swami' silver depicting scenes from the Jataka tales.

Trev.
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[oel]

Hi Dognose

I have Copy and Paste some information.
Swami is a generic word for “god” and was applied to a type of silverware combining European forms with Hindu images.

Swami Silver
It is said that Prince of Wales was sent on an extensive tour to India by the Queen, 19 years after India’s first war of independence (Sepoy Mutiny, 1857). The Maharajas in India vied with each other to shower him with the best of gifts and silver seemed to be their unanimous choice. By that time, P. Orr & Sons had built an impeccable reputation of being the best silver smith in India and became synonymous with the quality silversmiths in South India who crafted what is uniquely termed as ‘Swami Silver’. From The Gaekwad of Baroda to The Maharaja of Indore and The Maharaja of Cochin to The Maharaja of Kutch, all bought Swami Silver from P. Orr & Sons and gifted it to the Prince. It is believed that he went back with two ship loads of gifts!
Fortunately for P. Orr & Sons, the Prince conferred them with ‘Appointed to His Royal Highness - the Prince of Wales’ title soon after he returned to England. They were amongst the first merchants to be given this honour and they still form part of a clique less than 12 in number.
Soon, P. Orr & Sons was appointed to every important ‘darbar’ in India. They also boasted of a repertoire of craftsmen including silversmiths, goldsmiths, clocksmiths, gun maker and variety of other professionals who could produce what the rich and famous wanted. However, nothing comes close to their silver tea sets with full enamel painting of Raja Ravi Varma’s works! If you have one set of this passed on from your great grand mother, you are holding on to serious wealth.
By the 1880’s, P. Orr & Sons were supplying silverware, gold ornaments and watches with appointment to the Prince of Wales, the Nizam of Hyderabad and many other princely states in India and were almost in league with fellow jewellers of the 19th century - Garrards and Asprey of London, Cartier, Chopard from Paris, Graff and Tiffany & Co from New York. Every great city deserved a great jeweler. P. Orr & Sons for Madras’ pride.
For more see:
http://www.blsmartbuy.com/?p=4114" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or:

http://sriramv.wordpress.com/2009/04/10 ... and-p-orr/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.learn.columbia.edu/delight/regional.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards, Oel
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