Category: Artefacts

The crystal Swarowski Maharajah

25/2/2017

Here is the crystal Air India Maharajah made by Swarowski. A limited quantity was ordered for the Golden Jubilee of Air India in 1998, and I understand that only 50-100 pieces were ordered. Interestingly, the story goes that an even smaller number were delivered.

I have written to Swarowski for more information, but no reply has come in from them so far. It appears that the order was processed by the Vienna office of Air India, and hence not much information is available in the airline as well.

What I do know is that there was a grand celebration event held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, and Mr. J. R. D. Tata was invited as the chief guest. He spoke nostalgically about his years with the airline, and a Films Division documentary of the 1948 flight was also shown.

The Swarowski Maharajah was also presented to Mr. Tata and other senior Air India officials. The one in my collection was graciously presented to me by a former Managing Director of the airline, and I am ever so grateful to him for his generosity. This is so rare that is all these years of collecting Air India memorabilia, I have never seen this on the market, in India or abroad.

The Maharajah comes packed in molded foam, set inside a strong cylindrical box with a decorative motif and Air-India Centaur and Maharajah logos.

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Will the real Maharajah please stand up

15/12/2016

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Above: The traditional Maharajah in the pose we have always seen him in

Unusual 1950s Maharajah statue discovered.

Over the years we have seen many souvenir Maharajah statues used for gifting and promotional purposes. They come in all sizes right from the more common 110 mm tall, all the way up to 1 meter in height. However, one thing is common. The Maharajah is always in one frozen pose. Always with his right hand bent at the elbows, palm across his breast, and left hand by his side.

This is the Maharajah pose we are all familiar with, and have come to know and easily recognise. We have seen him standing with his head slightly bowed, eyes lowered, and gracefully welcomng us abord his magic carpet for a ride into the heavns.

So, I was really surprised to come across a Maharajah souvenir statue in a unique pose. This one has his palms joined in Namaste, the traditional Indian greeting. More interestingly, the legend at the foot of the Maharajah reads Air-India International. The presence of the word International in the name of the airline dates back to the 1948-1962 period. So, it would be a safe bet to date this one to the 1950s. He is about 100 mm tall, and seems to cast in Plaster of Paris. The statue is in surprisingly good condition, and barring some paint chipping off the base, the rest of the condition is excellent, and the colours are bright and fresh.

I have come across images of the Maharajah in the 1990s and later in Air-India advertisements in this pose, but never before in something dating back to the 1950s. I will continue to look for such statues, hopefully in varying sizes, and post here whenever I get a chance.

Above: The unusual Maharajah dating back to the 1950s with his palms folded together welcoming his guests with a Namaste.

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Air-India Collector

The crystal Swarowski Maharajah

Will the real Maharajah please stand up

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