Ewer and cover, round with tall, flared neck, spout detached, carved decoration, attached finial to cover, greyish green nephrite jade, Mughal empire, probably 18th century

A round ewer and cover, fashioned in greyish green nephrite jade and with a good polish all over.
The ewer has a squat body with a fairly tall neck that is slightly pinched in the middle and which then flares at the mouth. It stands on a short, flared and recessed foot with a rim and the body has a recessed opening in the side where the separately fashioned spout was once attached and which has since come adrift but is present. The interior is smoothly finished and the exterior has been carved and incised with plants and foliage that resemble palm trees. The slightly curved spout has a leaf or palm frond carved in relief on the underside and there is additional leaf decoration carved around the tip.
The cover is round and domed with an attached finial that has been carved as a flower bud. The underside is plain and the wide rim has a raised inner ring to help locate and secure the cover onto the ewer. On the upper surface, around the finial, there is a circular band of petal-like channels which is then surrounded by an additional band of repeating motifs, all carved in relief.

Wells Bequest

This ewer and cover were probably fashioned in Turkey, possibly in the 18th century and were acquired by Arthur Wells who was a Nottingham solicitor and Clerk of the Peace. He was a keen traveller and was made a Fellow of the Geographical Society. He is considered to be the first private British collector of Chinese jade and his collection of jade and other hardstone objects from South Asia was on exhibition at the South Kensington Museum at the time of his death in 1882. This collection was left to the museum in his will - the Wells Bequest.

This ewer was probably made within the Mughal empire in the 18th century. The body of the ewer, its spout and cover have each been fashioned from single pieces of green nephrite jade, a hard and durable material that requires patience and skill to work. It was bequeathed to the museum by Arthur Wells, a Nottingham solicitor and Clerk of the Peace. He was a keen traveller and was made a Fellow of the Geographical Society. He is considered to be the first private British collector of Chinese jade and his collection of jade and other hardstone objects from South Asia was on exhibition at the South Kensington Museum at the time of his death in 1882.

1573&A-1882