DECCAN RESERVE
The House · Identity

The Seal

Every lot the House offers has passed through the same hands and been judged by the same standard. The seal is the mark of that standard: struck like a coin, drawn in silver on black, and made from things Hyderabad already knows.

DECCAN RESERVE HYDERABAD
What it means

Three things the Deccan has always trusted

The coin

The outline is a coin, after the gold ashrafi struck in Hyderabad State: a thing of fixed and certain value, passed from hand to hand. The House’s name runs around its rim the way a mint marked its issue.

The star

At its centre is the eight-point star, two squares turned against each other, as it is cut into the stone jali screens and set into the tilework of Deccan buildings: a pattern made to let light through while keeping what is inside private.

Silver on black

The colours come from Bidriware, the Deccan craft of inlaying silver into a blackened alloy. Nothing is gilded or loud: the mark is a fine line of silver in a dark ground, and it is only ever shown that way, or in black on paper.

Two forms

The seal, and the mark

DECCAN RESERVE HYDERABAD

The seal

With the House’s name and city around the rim. Used where it can be read in full: 72 pixels across or larger on screen, 25 millimetres or larger in print. The footer, invoices, certificates, catalogues and signage.

The mark

The rings and the star without lettering, for small sizes where the rim text would blur: the header, the browser tab, the phone’s home screen and social avatars. It is always paired with the written name nearby.

Colour

A dark ground, a silver line

  • Bidri black

    #0B0E0D

    The ground of every page, after the blackened alloy of Bidriware.

  • Bidri deep

    #111514

    Panels and quiet sections laid on the ground.

  • Silver inlay

    #DCDFD9

    Headings, the seal, and anything that must be read first.

  • Worn silver

    #AAB0AB

    Body text on black.

  • Pearl

    #E7E8E3

    Catalogue paper: rules, terms and anything printed.

  • Emerald

    #5BBF9A

    Only for what is live: an open lot, a confirmed step.

Type

Three voices, one register

Aa Aa

Bodoni Moda

For headings, lot titles and prices. Italic marks the one word that matters in a line.

Aa

Hanken Grotesk

For everything read at length: descriptions, terms, letters. Spaced capitals for the House’s name.

Lot 001

IBM Plex Mono

For catalogue numbers, paddles, times and small labels: the record-keeping voice of the House.

Voice

How the House writes

  • Plainly, as a good catalogue does. Say what a thing is, where it has been and what it is not.
  • Quietly. No exclamation marks, no superlatives the lot hasn’t earned, no hurry that isn’t real.
  • Honestly. Never promise a price, a timing or a guarantee the House cannot keep.
  • Discreetly. Owners are described by their objects, never by their names.
Using the mark

A few rules

  • Show it in silver on Bidri black, or in black on pearl or white. No other colours, gradients or gold.
  • Keep clear space around it of at least a quarter of its width.
  • Never stretch, rotate, outline or add shadows, and never redraw the lettering.
  • On a photograph, place it on a calm, dark area, or on a Bidri black panel.
  • Partners may use the mark only to show their relationship with the House, and with its agreement.
Files

Download the seal

The seal’s lettering is set in IBM Plex Mono. For print, ask the House for the outlined artwork.