Tile fragment, Mughal; Lahore c. 1640-1650

Irregular fragment of a glazed tile with green ground and three yellow and orange flower heads .

Purchased from Richard Poyser, Veterinary Major, Army Veterinary Department, Meerut, NWP

Bought from Richard Poyser, Veterinary Major, Army Veterinary Department, Meerut, NWP. The precise source was not identified. His letter to the museum from Meerut, 13 April 92, refers to 'three broken pieces of encaustic tiles wh.[which] belonged to the Tomb of Azof Khan (AD about 1628) at Shahrah near Lahore' and offers to sell 17 other pieces from the same tomb. He also offered 34 'other pieces of encaustic tiles from other tombs or mosques (which can be named) of about the same date and character precisely'. The total number of 50 pieces were offered for 250 guineas.
On his return to England in 1898 as Lieutenant-Colonel, he wrote to Caspar Purdon Clarke 'I may add for your private information, that the old Indian tiles, which took me nearly 7 years to collect & which, as you are aware, are exceedingly difficult to obtain for many reasons, all came - excepting two - from Lahore & its neighbourhood where the tombs still stand to which they belonged, & some details will be found on the back of each & of an authentic nature.
Some I secured from a Mahommedan priest, - within the precints of an important tomb, & just within its outer boundary wall, where they had been set up edgways to form square holes for pigeons to breed in: others from another priest had paved for himself a seat with them & upon which he constantly sat & read his Koran. he had also faced the wall at his back & side (in a corner) to a certain height with the same: Mney would not get these out of him, but he sold me some loose ones. Another lot I purchased from a native shop keeper who lived near a celebrated tomb, & he fished them up out of a deep cellar under his shop. Two very fine specimens I secured in Delhi & you will find them so marked on the back.'

This tile was part of a group bought from Richard Poyser, a Veterinary Major with the Army Veterinary Department at Meerut. They were collected from Lahore and the surrounding area. Originally on tombs, according to Major Poyser, some had been acquired from "a Mohammadan priest - within the precincts of an important tomb [not named] ... where they had been set up edgeways to form square holes for pigeons to breed in: others from another tomb whose priest had paved for himself a seat with them...Another lot were purchased from a native shopkeeper who lived near a celebrated tomb [unnamed] & he fished them up out of a deep cellar under his shop. Two very fine specimens I secured in Delhi and you will find them so marked on the back". The tombs were unidentified, but recent research suggests this fragment came from the tomb of Nadira Begum, the wife of the Mughal prince Dara Shokuh. The monument was built earlier, and was probably originally a garden pavilion. However, after the war of succession that took place in 1657-1658 and the new emperor Alamgir had his brother Dara murdered, her body was interred there. A large group of related tiles from this monument survive in the Lahore Museum.

IS.54-1898