Large, very fine, and unique Indian gilt-metal and silver sporting shield

Awarded as a polo trophy to a team which included the Maharajah of Ratlam, and decorated with Indian landmarks, this fantastic piece is a large gilt-metal, silver, and ebonised wood framed sporting trophy, dating to c. 1927. The landmarks include the Jama Masjid, Delhi, the Golden Temple, Amritsar and others, and these images are interspersed with images of deities on thrones, animals and portraits, centred by a monogram ‘EI’.’

It is set within a circular ebonised wood frame with four plaques, one inscribed with the names of participants in a polo match in 1927. The trophy was awarded to a team comprising: Major E. D. Metcalfe (No. 1), Captain C. T. I. Roark (No. 2), The Maharajah of Ratlam (No. 3), and Lt. Col. the Hon. J. D. Y. Bingham (Back), who won 6 goals to 5 in 1927 (recorded in one of the plaques on the wood frame).