I have a beautiful pocket watch with the enamel portrait of the
Maharaja of Morvi or more precicely Waghji,Thakore Saheb of Morvi.On
the outer ring og the watch/portrait is inscribed  "A special gift to
my friend Nikolai Przhevalsky from the Maharaja".
This implies the watch was given my the Maharaja to Przhevalsky,who
was the Russian Explorer (?) around 1839-1888).I would like to find
out if it was the same explorer Przhevalsky,what his connection was
with the Maharaja of Morvi (I understand he did visit India...but did
he go to the State of Morvi?) and  any further insights into the
connection or possibly the watch.I came across the watch in New
Orleans and the dealer there indicated he picked it up in Paris.If
seeing the watch helps send your e-mail address.

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Clarification of Question by ronim-ga on 09 Nov 2003 09:00 PST

Header should read Maharaja of Morvi (not "or")

Even though my research didn't turn up anything very helpful, I
thought I would let you know a bit about what I did find.

I couldn't come up with any evidence that Przhevalsky and the Maharaja met.
It seems unlikely that Przhevalsky himself was ever in India. "Dream
of Lhasa", a biography of the explorer and army officer, implies that
he never came nearer to India than Turkestan, and confirms that the
Russians and the British (including British India) were on "opposite
sides" in parts of Asia during this period.

If Przhevalsky and the Maharaja met, it might perhaps have been
outside India. I couldn't explore this possibility as it is hard to
find much information on Morvi and its rulers.

Przhevalsky did receive medals from various quarters, to honour his
achievements, and I suppose it is possible that he was sent a watch in
the same spirit.
"The Russian Geographical Society presented him with the great
Constantine medal, and from all parts of Europe he received medals and
honorary diplomas."
http://92.1911encyclopedia.org/P/PR/PRJEVALSKY_NIKOLAI_MIKHAILOVICH.htm

If you haven't already seen it, you might like to know of this fine
photograph of "Sir Waghji Ravaji, Thakur Sahib of Morvi (1858-1922)".
http://web4.si.edu/asia/exdoc/tourdetail.cfm?ExhibitID=7&ItemID=28292&BeginWith=7

In case you decide to research this further, be warned that
Przhevalsky's name has many different spellings.
A further trap is that Sir Waghji is sometimes confused with either
his father or his son, perhaps because of the way names are handed
down through the generations. Also, Morvi is often spelt Morbi, so it
can get confusing!


Leli

Thanks for the info and if you come up with anything pl let me
know.Theenael portrait I have on the watch is very beautiful and
similar to the image you have given a link to.I dont know how one can
post it so you can see.
Roni

No one is allowed to post personal email addresses here.  However, if
you want to put up a picture that can be viewed, the best way is to
post it in an online album, and then put the link here in your
question or a clarification.  There are quite a few places you can do
this.  One I like is http://www.villagephotos.com  You set up an
account, then post your picture(s), then look for the "public url,"
which is the one to post for others to view it.  Oh - and make sure
the viewing privileges are set to "public" versus "private."  They
give you step-by-step instructions, so I'm sure you won't have trouble
with it.

Best of luck,
Byrd