Salvador Dali Air India Ashtrays, LE no. 819, from Jot Singh’s own collection!

Description: Salvador Dali Air India ashtrays Limited Edition #819 I had previously listed two of these together. I have now made them two separate listings. Please see eBay item #156635560593 also. * * * * * This is one of two ashtrays that came from Jot Singh’s own collection.* * * * * I have listed two of the Air India / Salvador Dali Limited Edition ashtrays. For those not familiar with these, here is a quick background. There is more information in the screen shot images above. A Google search will also produce many links with similar information. In 1967, a man called Jot Singh was the PR manager for Air India in New York. In a chance meeting with Salvador Dali, he asked whether Dali could design an object d’art that Air India could give away as a freebie to its first class passengers. Dali agreed and created an ashtray that had three legs, each of which could be seen as either the head of an elephant or a swan when turned upside down. The rim of the ashtray was made in the motif of a snake. They were made by Limoges in France. As a fee, Dali requested a baby elephant from India, which was delivered to Spain! The pieces were made of clay and left unglazed. The piece has a somewhat oval bowl with three legs attached to them. The bowl has a rim that is made in a snake motif. Most of them have the snake motif painted either green or a teal blue with a glaze-like overcoat, but some are left unpainted and with no glaze. There seems to be no methodology for how this decision was made. Initially, Air India had 500 pieces made, and after they ran out of them, they had 500 more made. So a total of 1,000 pieces were made. The ashtrays are slightly oval in shape and measure roughly 5” x 6”, and are about 3.5” tall. The ashtray and the legs were molded separately, then the legs were attached to the base of the ashtrays, so there was a joint. Over the years, with continual change in ambient temperature, these joints develop hairline cracks. That is quite normal. The clay itself is not super-strong, and the legs can break. You see many pieces with legs that were broken or came off, and glued back on. As long as there are no chips or lost material, these are OK, too. This piece shows a hairline crack above on of the legs. The two pieces I have on eBay both belonged to Jot Singh himself. I bought them from the man who bought them from Jot Singh’s nephew. I had a series of messages with this seller that had documented these details, but unfortunately, eBay deleted these old messages, so I can’t prove it – you have to take my word that these came out of Jot Singh’s personal collection. He had several of these, presumably some with single-digit numbers… Who knows. Those are probably in some safe owned by his heirs. These pieces are listed for prices range from US $6,000 to $10,000, and I don’t know what a fair market value is. I am listing each at the low end of the range, and I will accept an offer that clicks in my brain at that time. Free domestic shipping within the USA.* * * * * Edited: PLEASE NOTE: I have received a couple of messages from people in India asking me if I have any other items that belonged to Mr. Jot Singh or any of the other people from the Air India team in the 1967-68 period. I do not. I have zero direct connections into this domain. I only know what I learned from the man I bought these from, and one of his family members was a member of the Air India marketing team in New York, and got these ashtrays from Jot Singh. The seller I bought these from had extensive and specific details that could have only come from an insider. It is unfortunate that eBay permanently deleted those messages - if I had known that would happen, I would have saved those messages. So that is all there is to it. I am just a collector of interesting art items, including watches, pens, bronzes, Persian rugs, crystal glass, etc., and as I am growing old now, I am simplifying my life and selling these things for another generation of collectors to own and appreciate. * * * * * PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT Please ask any questions before bidding, I am happy to respond promptly. Payment by either the eBay payment gateway or PayPal must be made immediately after purchase. I describe my items accurately, and I do not accept returns. My default domestic shipping is within the contiguous United States, by either FedEx ground or the U.S. Postal Service, with no insurance. FOB ORIGIN, upon handing over item to the carrier at origin. The cost of shipping by any other means, or to any other destination, or shipping with insurance will vary - please check with me first. Please note that the eBay checkout system will automatically add the applicable sale tax based on the shipping address. I have no control over with this, and I do not see this money - eBay collects the tax and sends it to the government. eBay also frequently adds information to listings that are not always accurate or even relevant. I am not responsible for this. Kindly go only based my description above, and if there's any doubt, please clarify with me before buying. Attention international buyers: I use the eBay International Shipping service, which will automatically add additional shipping costs, and will also declare the value of the product for Customs purposes. You are responsible for paying any import duties and taxes. I have no control over this - in fact, eBay does not even share your address with me. I simply ship the product to eBay in the USA, then eBay takes over. This process will take about 7-10 extra days of time also. If you prefer that I ship it directly to you, please let me know before you buy, so I can give you an estimate for the shipping costs. For direct shipments, I can declare the Customs value at whatever you ask me to - once you pay for the item, it is yours, and you tell me how you want me to handle it. The maximum value I can declare or insure an item for is USD 2,500.

Price: 4995 USD

Location: Los Gatos, California

End Time: 2025-02-15T01:52:40.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD