Bowl
18th century (made)
| Place of origin |
This bowl very clearly illustrates the skill of the craftsmen who were producing fine objects within the Mughal empire in the 18th century. Not only has it been carved from a single crystal of clear, colourless quartz, the surfaces have been polished and then carved and engraved with recesses that have been inset with diamonds, rubies and emeralds in reflective, closed-back mounts and set in gold. This bowl was in the collection of one of the major British collectors of such objects in the 19th century, Mr. William Henry Cope and was bequeathed by him to the museum in 1903.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Rock crystal, gold, diamond, emerald and ruby. Fashioned using a variety of techniques. |
| Brief description | Bowl, fluted, rock crystal, inset gold and gems, Mughal empire, 18th century |
| Physical description | A bowl of generally round but eight-fluted form, standing on a short, flared foot with a concave recess and a wide rim. The walls are thick and polished with the exterior being decorated in a floral design with inset gold with 69 diamonds, 40 emeralds and 41 rubies, all faceted. Some areas of gold work appear to be tarnished. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | W. H. Cope Bequest |
| Object history | This cup was fashioned within the Mughal empire in the 18th century and was acquired by W. H. Cope Esq. who valued it at £28-7s. He bequeathed it to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1903. William Henry Cope Esq was considered an authority on ancient ecclesiastical stained glass and on old Plymouth china. He was also an important collector of china, jade and old Venetian and German glass, acquiring many of his pieces from sales of well-known collections such as the Beckford, the Bernal, the Guthrie, the Magniac and the Wells. He became an Associate of the British Archaeological Association in 1863 and was elected to the BAA council in 1871 and regularly contributed to discussions on a broad range of subjects, often taking along objects from his own collections. In 1880, Mr. Cope published the first of his articles, on the subject of jade, for the Journal of the BAA. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 1st July 1886 and was elected Vice-President of the BAA in June 1889, a post he continued to hold until his death in 1903. He bequeathed his collections to The Victoria and Albert Museum in 1903. |
| Summary | This bowl very clearly illustrates the skill of the craftsmen who were producing fine objects within the Mughal empire in the 18th century. Not only has it been carved from a single crystal of clear, colourless quartz, the surfaces have been polished and then carved and engraved with recesses that have been inset with diamonds, rubies and emeralds in reflective, closed-back mounts and set in gold. This bowl was in the collection of one of the major British collectors of such objects in the 19th century, Mr. William Henry Cope and was bequeathed by him to the museum in 1903. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 771-1903 |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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