unknown mark: HLS india 837 can somebody tell me what this set is and what its worth?
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My colleague presupposes 14 years ago you missed the word " MET" preceding the words
" HLS India 837" and this set is therefore connected to Metropolitan Hotels which stamped “ME HLS IND” on the bottom of something made of brass which showed up on a German antique collectors website.
The referred to link is now dead but if he is right then this teapot is part of a set, probably one of many sets, not actually made for the modern Grand Metropolitan Hotel in Delhi which only came into existence nearly a century later but the Maidens Hotel, Delhi, originally known as **Maiden’s Metropolitan Hotel, is a heritage hotel in the Civil Lines. It was opened in 1903 in its present location. Originally painted a striking red, the hotel’s exterior was later refreshed to a pearl‑white facade with lush jade‑toned meadows, reflecting its evolution from grand colonial landmark to modern heritage property. It has British Colonial architecture features like arched windows, classical columns, high‑ceilinged interiors and polished wooden floors
A 1908 travel handbook advertising the Maiden’s Metropolitan Hotel in Delhi
The original hotel (Metropolitan Hotel) was jointly run by two Englishmen brothers, the Maiden brothers, from 1894 onwards, and in its present location by one of them, J. Maiden, from 1903 onwards. In the early 20th century, the hotel was widely considered to be the best hotel in Delhi. At the time of the 1903 Coronation Durbar held by Lord Curzon to celebrate the coronation of Edward VII as Emperor of India, the Metropolitan Hotel was the most sought after hotel accommodation in Delhi and the most expensive. The hotel was originally painted in Red in its early days. (Maidens Hotel, Delhi - Wikipedia
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All of which is very interesting but doesn’t assist much with the original question which is what is it worth.
In this instance, if it can be linked back to the 1903 Coronation Durbar and the people that attended, a premium over what is otherwise a nickel silver teapot set with a sugar and creamer.
Since we have no maker’s name, or if we do then the item may not be connected with Maiden’s famous hotel at all, hunting for hotel inventory or invoices to cutlers and metal makers is fairly hopeless.
But that, I think is where I would start. A letter to the modern owners might trigger a useful response.
May I leave the reader with this contemporary poetic comment about someone who might have once used the humble teapot:
“My name is George Nathaniel Curzon, / I am a most superior person, / My cheek is pink, my hair is sleek, / I dine at Blenheim once a week.”
The Oxford doggerel haunted him all his life and his association with the only private palace ever built in England was intense rivalry with someone born there, Winston Churchill.
None the less he became Viceroy of India, and, like Churchill, was an ardent supporter of Empire.
CRWW
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