A group of steel buttons from the suit of Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet (1795-1853) England, 19th Century comprising twenty-three large and eight small buttons, each in the form of rosettes, some with remaining fragments of black wool coat, with handwritten note on paper reading 'Steel buttons from grandpapas Court suit' the large buttons 2.76 cm. diam.(31) Footnotes: Provenance Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet (1795-1853) and thence by descent until sold at Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 12 November 2025, lot 190. Grandfather's Cabinet The present collection, known within the family as Grandfather's Cabinet, was assembled across a number of generations of the Metcalfe and Ricketts families, whose members held senior positions in the administration of British India during the first half of the 19th Century. It was formed by Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron and 3rd Baronet (1785-1846) and Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet (1795-1853), and subsequently expanded and curated by George Henry Mildmay Ricketts (1827-1914), his son Major Edward Wallace Claud Ricketts (1884-1947) and his grandson Lieutenant Colonel John Mildmay Ricketts (1913-1987). The collection provides a vivid material record of Anglo-Indian contact and diplomacy during a formative period in the subcontinent's history. It includes important Sikh and Mughal artefacts, notably a turban presented to Charles Metcalfe by Maharajah Ranjit Singh (lot 203); a matchlock gun once carried by a courtier of the Maharajah and later given to George Ricketts (lot 204), and a silver-mounted quarterstaff once carried in procession before the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II (lot 198). Later, much of the collection would be housed in a purpose-built display cabinet made by George Ricketts. This 'cabinet of curiosities', provided later generations with a window to their ancestors' illustrious past in India, and was referred to by his grandchildren, and their children, as 'Grandfather's Cabinet'. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe (1785-1846) Charles Metcalfe went to India as a Writer in 1801 and was among the first students at the College of Fort William in Calcutta. His early career placed him in the office of Lord Wellesley, the Governor-General, in 1803, followed by service as Political Officer in the Maratha War in 1804. In 1808 he was appointed Assistant to the Resident at Delhi, and later that year undertook a special mission as envoy to the court of Maharajah Ranjit Singh under Lord Minto, the Governor-General. He was sent to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Sikh court and to prevent expansion east of the Sutlej river. His visit culminated in the Treaty of Amritsar, on the 25th of April 1809. Metcalfe's distinguished service continued through appointments as Deputy Secretary in the Political Department (1809-1810), Resident at Gwalior (1810), Resident at Delhi (1811-1819), and Political Secretary and Private Secretary to the Governor-General, Lord Hastings (1819). He later served as Resident at Hyderabad (1820), Resident again at Delhi (1825), Member of the Supreme Council (1827-1834), and Governor of Agra (1834). He became provisional Governor-General of India (1835-1836), then Governor of Jamaica (1839-1842) and Governor-General of Canada (1843-1845). Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet (1795-1853) Sir Thomas Metcalfe went to India in 1812 as a Writer in the East India Company and began his career as Assistant to the Resident at Delhi under his older brother, Charles. He was later Head Assistant in the Central Division of the Delhi Residency (1823-1827), Judge and Magistrate of the Delhi Division (1827-1828), and Resident at Delhi (1835-1853). During his tenure as Resident at the Mughal Court, Sir Thomas maintained detailed records of Delhi's buildings, customs, and courtly life. His Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi, an album of Company School paintings and descriptive notes sent as a souvenir to his daughter Emily whilst she resided in England, remains one of the most valuable contemporary visual accounts of the city before the uprising of 1857. It is now housed in the British Library (shelfmark Add.Or.5475). George Henry Mildmay Ricketts (1827-1914) George Ricketts entered the East India Company's service in 1849 and served as Assistant Magistrate and Collector in Bengal before holding senior positions across northern India. He became Deputy Commissioner in Ludhiana, an important military station on the Grand Trunk Road, during the years surrounding the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and later Commissioner for the Agra Division, where he played a key role in the conservation and restoration of important monuments, including the Taj Mahal. An accomplished horseman and marksman, Ricketts's administrative and practical knowledge made him an effective civil officer in areas of close military cooperation. His memoirs of outdoor service life (1847-1879) offer detailed portraits of British and Indian figures of the period. His connection to the Metcalfes was forged through his marriage to Emily Isabella Clive Bailey (1850-1916), Sir Thomas Metcalfe's granddaughter, who passed on many of the objects acquired by her ancestors, and her husband, to their son Edward Wallace Claud Ricketts. George and Edward consolidated and expanded the collection, housing them in the cabinet which gave this collection its name. Major Edward Wallace Claud Ricketts (1884-1947) Edward Ricketts was an officer in the 3rd Battalion, Sikh Frontier Force Regiment of the Indian Army. In addition to an army career in India, he became referee for the Indian Olympic Hockey Team, and travelled with them widely. Lieutenant Colonel John Mildmay Ricketts (1913-1987) Lieutenant Colonel John Mildmay Ricketts, the Grandson of George Henry Mildmay Ricketts, maintained the family's long association with India into the twentieth century. He served during the Second World War with the 2nd Sikhs, 12th Frontier Force Regiment, continuing the family's connection with the Punjab. He took an active role in preserving the history of his ancestors and their collection. In his retirement he arranged the publication of The Golden Calm: An English Lady's Life in Moghul Delhi (M. M. Kaye [ed.], Exeter, 1980), a work incorporating the memoirs of his great-grandmother, Emily Lady Clive Bayley (née Metcalfe), and her father Sir Thomas Metcalfe's Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi, including facsimiles of the Company School paintings. Through this effort, John Ricketts brought renewed attention to the family's historical and artistic legacy, ensuring its preservation and scholarly recognition. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing