Cup
BackThis object is a Gateway object. Gateway objects are significant artefacts in the collection and are used to represent and introduce bigger subjects and themes.
Description:
Cup; carved from dark green nephrite; low foot ring, globular body and short cylindrical neck, with engraved Persian inscription around part of the neck.
Object type: | cup |
Museum number: | 1945,1017.257 |
Culture/period: | Mughal dynasty |
Date: | 1618-1619 (AH 1028) |
Production place: | Made in: India |
Materials: | nephrite |
Technique: | engraved |
Dimensions: | Height: 10.30 cm Diameter: 13.00 cm |
Inscriptions: | Inscription details: inscription (around the neck) in Persian in Nasta‘liq script Inscription quoted: Inscription translation: This cup of jade, choice gem, is [the cup] of Jahangir Shah, son of Shah Akbar. Let the water of life be in his cup, so that it may be the water of Khizr, life prolonging. Inscription note: Translation by Edward Thomas (1875) Inscription: Inscription details: mark Inscription quoted: Inscription note: cartouche |
Location: | 39 |
Exhibition history: | Exhibited: 2015-2019 'A History of the World' [rotation for annual loan up to 2 nonconsecutive years, dates TBC] 2014-2015 Sep-Jan, BM, WCEC, 'Ming: 50 years that changed China' 2007-2008 5 Oct-7 Jan, Paris, Musee du Louvre, 'The Song of the World: The Art of Safavid Iran 1501-1736' 1989 13 Aug-5 Nov, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), 'Timur and the Princely Vision: Persian Art and Culture in the Fifteenth Century' 1989 16 Apr-6 Jul, Washington, D.C., Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 'Timur and the Princely Vision: Persian Art and Culture in the Fifteenth Century' |
Associated names: | Named in inscription: Jahangir |
Acquisition names: | Bequeathed by: Oscar Charles Raphael |
Acquisition date: | 1945 |
Curator's comments:
Local and foreign patrons and artisans contributed to South Asia’s layered visual traditions during the Islamic period. Jade appealed greatly to Mughal rulers such as the emperor Jahangir, who was a keen collector of Timurid objects like this jug. After acquiring the vessel, he commissioned an inscription (dated AH1028/1618-9 AD) bearing his name, the date and verses alluding to the drinking of wine. The form imitates metalware and inlaid cast brass vessels of this shape are characteristic of Timurid craftsmanship in Herat.
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