Thumb ring, white nephrite jade, flower and leaf decoration carved in low relief, Mughal empire, c. 1650

An asymmetric thumb ring fashioned in white nephrite jade with a good polish on all surfaces. The inner surface is smooth and plain and the outer surface has been carved in low relief with a branching plant in front which has five flowers and three buds and with a smaller plant at the back which has three flowers. The profile compares with that made for Shah Jahan in 1632 (1023-1871)

From the Waterton collection

From the Waterton collection. Bought by the Art Museum for 21 pounds. This ring forms part of a collection of 760 rings and engraved gems from the collection of Edmund Waterton (1830-87). Among them were two Mughal jade thumbrings, this one and the highly important example made for the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658) and bearing his titles (1023-1871). Waterton was one of the foremost ring collectors of the nineteenth century and was the author of several articles on rings, a book on English devotion to the Virgin Mary and an unfinished catalogue of his collection (the manuscript is now the National Art Library). Waterton was noted for his extravagance and financial troubles caused him to place his collection in pawn with the London jeweller Robert Phillips. When he was unable to repay the loan, Phillips offered to sell the collection to the Museum and it was acquired in 1871. A small group of rings which Waterton had held back were acquired in 1899.

Nephrite jade was introduced into the Mughal empire from Central Asia in the late 16th century, but the earliest artefacts made in the royal workshops date from the reign of Jahangir (1605-1627). At first, jade artefacts were probably owned only by the royal family and the highest ranking nobles of the court. Thumb rings similar to this example are depicted in portraits of the emperor and his sons, suspended on silken threads from their waist sashes, and were emblems of royalty. This example, acquired by a 19th century British collector in circumstances unknown, probably dates to about 1630-40, on the basis of its close comparison in shape to the jade thumb ring of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan dated 1632 (museum number 1023-1871), also from the Waterton collection.

1022-1871