Bracket thumbnail 1
Bracket thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
South Asia Gallery, Room 41

Bracket

ca. 1617-1618 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This architectural bracket in carved red sandstone was acquired in India for the South Kensington Museum by Caspar Purdon Clarke on his purchasing expedition of 1881-1882. It was recorded as having been 'found at Agra', and described as "Ancient Hindu". It is more likely to have been made for 'Jahangir's Quadrangle' (Daulat khana-i jahangiri) in Lahore Fort, which was started by Akbar but completed during Jahangir's reign. This bracket formed part of the frontage of carved columns and animal brackets, and reflects the same heritage of Hindu palace architecture as is found in the early buildings of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. It probably dates to about 1617 or 1618.

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read The arts of the Mughal Empire The great age of Mughal art lasted from about 1580 to 1650 and spanned the reigns of three emperors: Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Hindu and Muslim artists and craftsmen from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent worked with Iranian masters in the masculine environment of the r...

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Sandstone
Brief description
Bracket, elephant, sandstone, Mughal, 17th century
Physical description
The bracket is carved in the form of an elephant and rider, partly broken, between two horizontals with a lotus bud hanging from the upper one.
Dimensions
  • Height: 58.5cm
  • Width: 76.5cm
Style
Object history
Acquired for the South Kensington Museum by Caspar Purdon Clarke on his purchasing expedition of 1881-1882. Said by him to have been 'found at Agra', and described as 'Ancient Hindu', though clearly from a Mughal monument, probably of the reign of Jahangir (r.1605-1627).

Robert Skelton says that it comes from "Jahangir's Quadrangle" in Lahore Fort.
Subject depicted
Summary
This architectural bracket in carved red sandstone was acquired in India for the South Kensington Museum by Caspar Purdon Clarke on his purchasing expedition of 1881-1882. It was recorded as having been 'found at Agra', and described as "Ancient Hindu". It is more likely to have been made for 'Jahangir's Quadrangle' (Daulat khana-i jahangiri) in Lahore Fort, which was started by Akbar but completed during Jahangir's reign. This bracket formed part of the frontage of carved columns and animal brackets, and reflects the same heritage of Hindu palace architecture as is found in the early buildings of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. It probably dates to about 1617 or 1618.
Bibliographic references
  • Guy, John and Swallow, Deborah (eds.) Arts of India: 1550-1900. Text by Rosemary Crill, John Guy, Veronica Murphy, Susan Stronge and Deborah Swallow. London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1990, reprinted 1999. 240 p. : ill. ISBN: 1851770224. p.64, pl.45
  • Stronge, S. Made for Mughal Emperors. Royal Treasures from Hindustan. London and New York, 2010 p. 34, pl. 14
  • Skelton, Robert, et al, The Indian Heritage. Court life and Arts under Mughal Rule London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982 p. 26, no. 2
  • Khan, 1958, pp. 17-18, fig. 6.
Collection
Accession number
IS.1066-1883

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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