What: A censor decorated with angels, given by Secretary of State for India, Sir Stafford Henry Northcote

Where: The British Museum, Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG

Provenance: Used as an illustration on the museum’s Maqdala collection page.

The catalogue entry reads:

“Censer with lid made of silver in the form of a square container on a pyramidal base, engraved with serpentine motifs. The container is engraved on all four sides with pairs of angels with their wings crossed in front of them in fear of divine glory. There are four suspension points, one in the centre of each side and suspension points at each corner, only one of which has a spherical silver bell. The separate arched lid is cut away with rows of four crosses with both the cut-out and solid form creating cruciform motifs. The lid is surmounted with an open work box and an ornate cross with suspension loop.”

Details
Museum number: Af1868,1230.4
Date: 18thC
Acquisition name: Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh
Acquisition date: 1868

What: A sistrum, given by Secretary of State for India, Sir Stafford Henry Northcote

Where: The British Museum, Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG

The catalogue entry reads:

“Top part of a sistrum, tsenatsil cast in two parts, body and octagonal, hollow shaft. The two sides of the sistrum are decorated with openwork, interlocking crosses and along their edges; with five pairs of semi circular decorations. Two wires with flattened ends are threaded through the sides of the sistrum and are each threaded with three brass discs which make the instruments distinct sound. The hollow shaft is soldered to the base and has two small holes which would have been used to attach it to a handle. The sides of the sistrum have been crushed inwards and the top decoration is missing.”

Detail
Museum number: Af1868,1230.12
Date: 19thC
Acquisition name: Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh
Acquisition date: 1868