Dish
19th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This dish was made in Cambay (Khambhat), India in the 19th century and it was fashioning by hand from locally sourced raw material. Agate and other quartz hardstones can be very attractive and they have been used to make decorative and/or utilitarian objects. Although agate is a tough and durable material, when it is worked to a fine edge or thickness it is vulnerable to damage when subjected to stress or impact.
Khambhat is situated at the northern end of the Gulf of Khambhat and was once an important trading centre for the region but this has waned as the harbour silted up. Despite having no stone deposits of its own, Khambhat is renowned for the craft of agate-working and especially bead-making, with the raw materials coming from more distant sources.
Khambhat is situated at the northern end of the Gulf of Khambhat and was once an important trading centre for the region but this has waned as the harbour silted up. Despite having no stone deposits of its own, Khambhat is renowned for the craft of agate-working and especially bead-making, with the raw materials coming from more distant sources.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Agate, cut and polished using abrasives and abrasive-charged tools. |
| Brief description | Dish, oval, having a short foot with a solid, flat base, translucent to opaque agate, brown to grey banding, Cambay India, 19th century |
| Physical description | An oval dish with a short, solid foot and flat base with smooth, unadorned and highly polished surfaces. It has been fashioned to a very high standard from translucent to opaque agate with pronounced banding in different shades of brown and white. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | W. H. Cope Bequest |
| Object history | This dish was fashioned in Cambay (Khambhat), India in the 19th century. It was acquired by William Henry Cope Esq. who valued it at £1-18s. He bequeathed it to the museum in 1903. |
| Summary | This dish was made in Cambay (Khambhat), India in the 19th century and it was fashioning by hand from locally sourced raw material. Agate and other quartz hardstones can be very attractive and they have been used to make decorative and/or utilitarian objects. Although agate is a tough and durable material, when it is worked to a fine edge or thickness it is vulnerable to damage when subjected to stress or impact. Khambhat is situated at the northern end of the Gulf of Khambhat and was once an important trading centre for the region but this has waned as the harbour silted up. Despite having no stone deposits of its own, Khambhat is renowned for the craft of agate-working and especially bead-making, with the raw materials coming from more distant sources. |
| Bibliographic reference | Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, "The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993.
p. 65, cat. no. 47 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 702-1903 |
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| Record created | December 24, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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