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Archer's thumb ring
Unknown - Enlarge image
Archer's thumb ring
- Date:
early 17th century (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Jewelled jade
- Museum number:
02521(IS)
- Gallery location:
In Storage
Nephrite jade was first introduced into the Mughal empire as a raw material from China in the reign of the emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605), but no artefacts are known to have been made at court until the reign of his son, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Jade was used to fashion royal wine cups, dagger and sword hilts and jewellery, and was probably seen only at the highest levels of the court. By the second half of the 17th century its use was increasingly common, and the jade was often studded with jewels set in gold that was so highly refined its softness allowed it to be shaped round the gemstones to hold them in place. This thumbring came from the famous collection formed by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie, who served in India from 1828 to 1857. He stayed in India for several years after his retirement, and was thus in a position to buy jades and other hardstones from the royal collections that were being broken up as British rule steadily encroached, leading to the 1857 Sepoy Revolt.
