Antique moulded glass bowl in a beautiful turquoise colour and an incredible history! These bowls were commissioned by Kanny Lall Dhur & Son, a prominent merchant house and elite importing firm operating in Calcutta, the capital and commercial hub of British India during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rather than manufacturing goods themselves, they functioned as luxury importers, distributors, and commission agents for high-end European products. They collaborated extensively with premium European glass factories, specifically in Belgium and France, and commissioned custom orders of heavy, decorative pressed glass such as ornate bowls, soda-bubble tumblers, finger bowls, and candle holders embossed with their own brand name to sell to affluent Indian households and elite colonial clientele.

This bowl was commissioned in the 1880s and made in Belgium, which was world-renowned during the Victorian and Edwardian eras for its exceptional pressed glass and crystal foundries. But the story gets better- Identical specimens were recovered from the historic shipwreck of the Duke of Buccleuch, a British iron steamship that tragically sank off the coast of Sussex, England, in 1889 while bound for India with luxury cargo. This exact mould and colour configuration is a verified maritime salvage match recorded under the UK Government's Historic England Research Records "6 Blue glass bowls, 165mm dia at top, 75mm dia at base, 80mm high with scalloped lip (14 semi circles in total), side markings show alternate teardrop and double teardrop design, with scrolls between each, markings on base 'Kanny Lall Dhur & Son' and 'Made in Belgium' at bottom with 'RS' in centre."

They passed legally into the private hands of the salvage team, and two bowls that were in good condition were sold directly to private maritime antiquarians and high-end shipwreck artifact collectors. The remaining four bowls, which the wreck records note suffered from hairline or major structural cracks from the 1889 collision were kept as personal souvenirs by the dive team. This piece is a rare twin piece that successfully made it to Calcutta, possibly in another ship, and survived perfectly intact for about 140 years, to arrive in our hands this year.

Approximately 3.2 inches in height and 6.6 inches in diameter. 761 grams in weight.