New user from Norway! Seeking information on a antique tea set

Dear fellow antiquers, thanks for letting me join your ranks! I am a Norwegian antique hunter, with a great interest in traditional art. I truly look forward to engaging in discussions, building relations, exploring antiquities, and gaining knowledge through this forum.

To start it off, I recently purchased an antique tea set from a local second-hand store that mesmerized me in an instant. However, the voluntary elders who run the store could not provide any valuable information about the set. I have spent numerous hours ever since trying to identify its origin, age, and value, without any success thus far. Therefore, I hope fellows of this forum can help me out! Nonetheless, I have some information that might help to identify its value, age, and origin. It is a handcrafted and hand-carved silver-plated copper set (could be Bronze), with all parts stamped “355” (from top-left-right) or “535” (from left-right), though I am not sure what value it refers to. I believe the design is of either Persian or Indian origin/tradition, by which the teapot spout seems to be formed as a snake (Indian/South-East Asia) with carved paisley drops on each side (Persian), filled with flower/vegetation patterns throughout, and what seems like a poppy-topped lid. Concerning age and value, I found some notes inside the bowl documenting a previous sale dated 10th of October 1977 at Oslo Marsjandiseforetning (Former Antique/Vintage store in Oslo, Norway) for 1100 NOK, which by today’s standards amounts to ca. 6300 NOK or 610 dollars / 560 euro / 480 pounds. The set remains in great condition, without any clear damage noticed - just patina as you’d expect. Notably, there’s no guarantee that the 1977 sale price was representative or based on accurate knowledge.

Would highly appreciate any information that may help to indicate a potential price range, hoping I’ve made a good deal. Additional information about its origin, age, or further background is also of great interest. Massive thanks to all for your time and attention.

Please let me know if I should post this in another thread!

Yours sincerely,
Norwegian Antique Hunter. K.M.

 

Welcome K.M., nice find.
I believe your tea set was made in Kashmir. Datewise probably 1930s-40s.
It counts as Anglo-Indian and as such it was made for the colonial market, which is how it ended up in Europe.

Below is a page on Kashmiri silver during the British colonial period, the Raj. Many silver items were copied in silverplate and silvered copper.

https://silverfromindia1850-1920.blogspot.com/p/indian-silver-from-kashmir.html

 

True, but the value in 1977 is not the value now. It all depends on the market.
Another thing to take into account is that antique and vintage items are expensive in Norway compared to the rest of Europe and the rest of the world.

 

The design reminds me of the Asian Indian sandelwood carved boxes.

 

Yes, those designs can be seen in different materials.
The details differ from one region to another. For instance, Kashmir uses the Persian "boteh" design quite a lot, and the "chinar" leaf. The boteh is known in the English speaking world as Paisley design, from the shawls that were made in the Scottish town of Paisley as copies of Kashmiri shawls.

 

Greetings, @AntiqueHunter !

 

Thanks so much for the insightful response! I have been dwelling on the idea that it could be Kashmir or Mughal, and now as I've read some more about Kashmir I believe you are spot on (Kashmir draws on influences from precisely Persian and Mughal design). However, I wonder what draws you towards 1930-1940 as opposed to the 19th century? Provided the heavily detailed hand-carved work that has gone into making this pot, I would naively presume a lesser technological period.

 

The Art Deco-ish look of the handles and the spout of the milk jug, mostly. I could be wrong, of course.

They are still making great quality handcrafted silverware, and other metals as well.

 

Thanks once again, and indeed, it is the only point of reference I have, besides the price of my purchase (which they had valued without any product-specific knowledge, just mere intuition). While antiquities and most other things were expensive in the late 70s Norway, it wasn't nearly as expensive as in the present when compared to the cost of living of nations with similar economic status. The notes from the 1977 sale only mention the mineral used and that it is handcrafted, nothing else - which makes me believe the valuation back then lacked product-specific knowledge/background. Otherwise, the "type" or "origin" of the vase would've probably been mentioned.