Domestic
c.1700-1730 (made)
| Place of origin |
Glass has been produced in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity, but little is known about its manufacturing centres or stylistic development. This cup belongs to a set that includes a bottle with an extremely rare crest lightly incised into the gold vase from which flowers extend across its body. The crest, a horse's head and crown, have been identified as those of John Deane, an English colonial administrator went on to hold the post of the English East India Company's President of Bengal from 1723 to 1726, and again from 1728 to 1732. He indulged in private trading which gave him a considerable income. Contemporary records record that he requested extra dinner and table allowances to meet his obligations to host members of the Company's Council, and it is probable that this bottle and its related cups and salver (C.140, 141 and 142-1936) were made during this period. Scientific analysis has shown the glass to be English; at this time, imported lump glass and ingots were beng exported from England to India, and refashioned for the local market. The precise place of manufacture cannot be given with certainty, but it could have been made in a Calcutta workshop, or in Patna or Lucknow, both known glass-making centres.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Glass, cobalt blue with painted gilt decoration |
| Brief description | Cup. Cobalt blue with gilt floral decoration, probably Lucknow or Patna, c. 1700-1730. |
| Physical description | Glass cup with painted gilt floral decoration |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Wilfred Buckley Collection |
| Object history | CUP: Cobalt blue with gilt floral decoration, probably Lucknow or Patna, c. 1700-1730. |
| Historical context | From the Wilfred Buckley Collection of glass, given by Mrs. Buckley in memory of her husband. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Glass has been produced in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity, but little is known about its manufacturing centres or stylistic development. This cup belongs to a set that includes a bottle with an extremely rare crest lightly incised into the gold vase from which flowers extend across its body. The crest, a horse's head and crown, have been identified as those of John Deane, an English colonial administrator went on to hold the post of the English East India Company's President of Bengal from 1723 to 1726, and again from 1728 to 1732. He indulged in private trading which gave him a considerable income. Contemporary records record that he requested extra dinner and table allowances to meet his obligations to host members of the Company's Council, and it is probable that this bottle and its related cups and salver (C.140, 141 and 142-1936) were made during this period. Scientific analysis has shown the glass to be English; at this time, imported lump glass and ingots were beng exported from England to India, and refashioned for the local market. The precise place of manufacture cannot be given with certainty, but it could have been made in a Calcutta workshop, or in Patna or Lucknow, both known glass-making centres. |
| Associated object | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.141-1936 |
About this object record
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| Record created | June 12, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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