22nd Jun, 2019 10:00
Fine Art, Antiques & Jewellery
Canine & Travel Interest: a 19th century dog collar from the pet dog of Sir Aurel Stein the leather collar with a padlock engraved “DASH†M A STEIN, R S ALLEN, verso 23 MERTON STREET, OXFORD (with two keys) and nine engraved copper plaques listing the various locations inc. 'Thousand Buddas' + 'The Great Wall' in which the explorer travelled with his pet dog, ‘Dash’. 45 cm overall length. Provenance: Sir Marc Aurel Stein KCIE, FRAS, FBA (Hungary 1862 - Kabul 1943) was a famous explorer and archaeologist mainly working in Central Asia. Born to a Hungarian Jewish family he was baptized in order to be given access to education and social advancement. Stein was famed for discovering the ‘hidden treasure of a great civilisation’ that has been almost forgotten about. One of his greatest discoveries was in 1907 finding a printed copy pf the ‘Diamond Sutra’, the world’s oldest printed text from AD 868, together with over 40,000 scrolls from the ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’ near Dunhuang. Stein was a participant in the ‘Great Game’ between Britain and Russia who were keen to hold influence in Asia. Many of the objects he collected are now in the British Museum, British Library and the National Museum of New Delhi. Stein was awarded medals and honours by the Royal Geographical Society, Royal Asiatic Society, Society of Antiquaries, Royal Anthropological Institute a fellow of the British Academy and received honorary doctorates from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and St. Andrews. In 1912 he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by George V. Note: ‘Dash’ was a popular name at the time, also used by Queen Victoria for her beloved spaniel. The name was used continuously by Stein for all seven of his Fox-Terrier like dogs. This collar most likely was used by ‘Dash II’ or ‘Dash The Great’(1904-18) who features on multiple occasions in Stein’s journal ‘Ruins of Desert Cathay’ from 1912, recounting how the brave terrier chased marmots, mounted horses and scaled mountains. P.S. Allen was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford and a close friend of Stein's, who look after Dash II in his old age and was allowed to roam Oxford freely, only to be sadly ran over by a newly invented Omnibus in 1918.
Sold for £1,600
Canine & Travel Interest: a 19th century dog collar from the pet dog of Sir Aurel Stein the leather collar with a padlock engraved “DASH†M A STEIN, R S ALLEN, verso 23 MERTON STREET, OXFORD (with two keys) and nine engraved copper plaques listing the various locations inc. 'Thousand Buddas' + 'The Great Wall' in which the explorer travelled with his pet dog, ‘Dash’. 45 cm overall length. Provenance: Sir Marc Aurel Stein KCIE, FRAS, FBA (Hungary 1862 - Kabul 1943) was a famous explorer and archaeologist mainly working in Central Asia. Born to a Hungarian Jewish family he was baptized in order to be given access to education and social advancement. Stein was famed for discovering the ‘hidden treasure of a great civilisation’ that has been almost forgotten about. One of his greatest discoveries was in 1907 finding a printed copy pf the ‘Diamond Sutra’, the world’s oldest printed text from AD 868, together with over 40,000 scrolls from the ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’ near Dunhuang. Stein was a participant in the ‘Great Game’ between Britain and Russia who were keen to hold influence in Asia. Many of the objects he collected are now in the British Museum, British Library and the National Museum of New Delhi. Stein was awarded medals and honours by the Royal Geographical Society, Royal Asiatic Society, Society of Antiquaries, Royal Anthropological Institute a fellow of the British Academy and received honorary doctorates from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and St. Andrews. In 1912 he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by George V. Note: ‘Dash’ was a popular name at the time, also used by Queen Victoria for her beloved spaniel. The name was used continuously by Stein for all seven of his Fox-Terrier like dogs. This collar most likely was used by ‘Dash II’ or ‘Dash The Great’(1904-18) who features on multiple occasions in Stein’s journal ‘Ruins of Desert Cathay’ from 1912, recounting how the brave terrier chased marmots, mounted horses and scaled mountains. P.S. Allen was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford and a close friend of Stein's, who look after Dash II in his old age and was allowed to roam Oxford freely, only to be sadly ran over by a newly invented Omnibus in 1918.
