Clive
of India's treasures sold for 4.7 million pounds (Go
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by Trevor Barnard
London:
The family of Robert Clive - the celebrated "Clive of
India" - have collected 4.7 million pounds from the sale
of the Mughal treasures that their ancestor brought home
from his eighteenth century all-conquering service in the
sub-continent. The highlight of the sale at Christie's in
London was a magnificent jewelled jade flask, which fetched
2,917,250 pounds, well over double the value estimated before
the sale. Its superb craftsmanship, the quality and colour
of the precious stones, and the astonishing condition, all
combine to make it one of the best Mughal artefacts that
have survived to the present day. Standing 25 centimetres
in height, the flask is intricately decorated in bands of
emeralds and studded with ruby flowers, all set in gold.
The flask was once part of the Royal collection at the Imperial
Court in Delhi. It probably was part of the immense treasure
looted by the Persian emperor Nadir Shah in 1939, when he
invaded and defeated the Mughal emperor Mohammed Shah in
1739. It is not known how Clive acquired it; one theory
is that it was booty after his victory over the Nawab of
Bengal, Siraj-ud Daulah, at the battle of Plassey in 1757
- a victory that effectively established British supremacy
in the Mughal-ruled sub-continent. The new Nawab, Mir Jaffir,
invited Clive to help himself from his treasury - which
suggests that it might have escaped the clutches of Nadir
Shah.
Only
two other jewelled flasks of Mughal origin are known to
have survived and they are part of the collection at the
State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. That collection
was a gift sent by Nadir Shah to the Russian ruling house
in 1739. By coincidence, one of the flasks is currently
on display at an exhibition of Islamic art in London. Further
highlights from the Clive of India Treasure sold at Christie's
include a flywhisk made from banded agate and inset with
rubies, which sold for 901,250 pounds, more than a hundred
times its estimated value; and a pistol-grip dagger decorated
with elegant floral sprays which fetched 733,250 pounds.
In all, the Clive treasures sold for more than three times
their estimated value. Most of the collection has been on
loan to the Clive Museum at Powys Castle in Wales, which
was once the family home. The jewelled flask has been at
the Victoria and Albert Museum, which has the largest collection
of treaures from India in the UK. The items in collection
were sold by Clive's descendants and bought anonimously.
Robert Clive (1725-1774) joined the East India company as
a clerk when he was 18. He accepted a commission in the
company's army and rose to be the administrator of British
India. When he returned to England in 1767, he faced a Parliamentary
inquiry into corruption allegations. He was cleared, but
committed suicide in 1774.
Halle
Berry's marriage is over (Go
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Washington:
Her movie career may be at it's peak, but life is not
a bed of roses for Halle Berry. The Oscar-winning actress
has finally bid adieu to her husband, Eric Benet after rumours
that their union was on the rocks. She had recently filed
for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court after separating
from her husband, Eric Benit in October, confirmed a spokesperson.
"So far the divorce is amicable, and I expect it to stay
that way," her lawyer Neal Hersh was quoted as saying. According
to E-online, the Monster's Ball star wed Benit, musician,
in a low-profile ceremony in January 2001. It was his first
walk down the aisle while her second. The duo filed a 5
million dollar lawsuit against Star magazine for suggesting
that the union was already "on the rocks" three months after
their wedding. In 2002,reports indicated that Benit had
strayed from Halle. While Berry never confirmed the reports,
she never denied them. In a November 2002 interview with
Essence magazine, she confirmed that her private life had
suffered a "staggering crisis" around the time of her historic
Academy Awards victory. She said that she and Benit were
in couples therapy. Halle's first marriage to baseball star,
David Justice, ended in 1996, but during divorce proceedings,
she put in a request for a restraining order against Justice,
claiming her ex was harassing her. Earlier this year, former
Berry beau Christopher Williams publicly denounced fellow
Berry ex, Wesley Snipes, as the man who hit the actor so
hard that she lost most of the hearing in her right ear.
Williams said he was sick of being accused of being a Berry
beater.
Kournikova
counter-sues her parents (Go
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New
York: Anna Kournikova has now counter-sued her parents
in response to their bid to acquire their share in the Miami
home. According to Star magazine, Sergei and Anna Kournikova
filed a lawsuit in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court on April
15 demanding the waterfront mansion be "partitioned". This
would force the tennis player and model to pay them for
what they insist is their share of the property. Anna, however,
has returned serve by filing papers to have her parents'
names removed from the deed. The 22-year old argues that
she paid the entire five million dollars for the residence,
and she only included her parents' names because they asked
her to do so. She also reveals that they only lived in the
home for a brief period, before being asked to leave in
2002. "Anna tried to resolve this dispute out of court and
is disappointed that it has become a matter of public record,"
said her lawyer.
