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Not currently on display at the V&A

Water Vessel

ca. 1580-1600 (made)
Place of origin
Mughal empire (made)

This water vessel was made within the Mughal empire, probably between about 1580 and 1600. All the inscriptions on the outer and inner surfaces are in a bold, finely engraved naskh. The outside bears invocations to the Panj Ahl-e Beyt, or 'Five Members of the House' of the Prophet Muhammad, and the inside Koranic verses. The decoration is based on Safavid designs of the period of Shah Tahmasp of Iran, but the form is characteristic of the Indian subcontinent.

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read The arts of the Mughal Empire The great age of Mughal art lasted from about 1580 to 1650 and spanned the reigns of three emperors: Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Hindu and Muslim artists and craftsmen from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent worked with Iranian masters in the masculine environment of the r...

Object details

Categories
Vases
Metalwork
Object type
Water vessel
Materials and techniques
Brass, cast and engraved
Brass
Cast
Engraved
Brief description
Brass vessel of compressed spherical form with short neck and everted rim. Cast with engraved decoration, the hatched ground filled with the black decoration. Mughal empire, c.1580-1600.
Physical description
Vase, brass, cast with engraved decoration, the hatched ground filled with the black composition. Mughal empire, c.1580-1600.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 15.4cm
  • Height: 12.3cm
Credit line
Purchased from F. Headen Cope, Esqre, Principal of C. J. College, Lahore
Object history
All the inscriptions on this vase, both on the outside and covering the interior surface, are in a bold, finely engraved naskhi script. The outside bears invocations to the 'Panj ahl-e beyt', or 'five Members of the House of Muhammad' and the inside has Koranic suras. The vessel seems originally to have had a spout. It is one of the earliest examples of metal wares so far known to have a form strongly characteristic of the Indian subcontinent but combined with purely Iranian decoration.
It was bought for six guineas ( £6. 6s. 6d) from F. Headen Cope, Esqre, Principal of C. J. College, Lahore.

Production
probably Lahore
Summary
This water vessel was made within the Mughal empire, probably between about 1580 and 1600. All the inscriptions on the outer and inner surfaces are in a bold, finely engraved naskh. The outside bears invocations to the Panj Ahl-e Beyt, or 'Five Members of the House' of the Prophet Muhammad, and the inside Koranic verses. The decoration is based on Safavid designs of the period of Shah Tahmasp of Iran, but the form is characteristic of the Indian subcontinent.
Bibliographic references
  • A.S. Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from Iranian Lands, 8th-18th centuries, HMSO 1982, cat. 164, with analysis of the inscriptions. Mark Zebrowski, Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mughal India, Alexandria Press in association with Laurence King, London 1997, pl. 327 Calza, Gian Carlo (ed.) Akbar: the great emperor of India. Rome : Fondazione, Roma Museo, 2012. ISBN 978-88-572-1525-9 (hard cover edition); ISBN 978-88-572-1793-2 (soft cover edition). p.251 , cat. no.III.14.
  • Skelton, Robert, et al, The Indian Heritage. Court life and Arts under Mughal Rule London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982 p. 145, cat. no. 489, Susan Stronge
  • Stronge, S. Made for Mughal Emperors. Royal Treasures from Hindustan. London and New York, 2010 p. 186, pl. 148
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IS.21-1889

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Record createdMay 15, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O154755/water-vessel/
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