Mirror, slightly elongated octagonal, bevelled edge, one-piece green jade frame with pierced back, set with rubies in gold, on red velvet, Mughal empire, 18th century.

A slightly elongated octagonal mirror with bevelled edges, mounted in gold into a one-piece, green nephrite jade frame with an exceptional, intricately pierced and carved back in a design of flowers, leaves and stems. There is an integral, pierced and carved ornament at one end and there is evidence of a now-lost handle or matching ornament on the opposing edge. The edges of the mirror have been set with 43 of 44 ruby cabochons (one is missing) in gold. Underneath the pierced back, between it and the mirror, there is a background of red velvet.

W. H. Cope Bequest

This mirror and frame were acquired by W. H. Cope Esq. who valued them at £82-11-0.

William Henry Cope was considered an authority on ancient ecclesiastical stained glass and on old Plymouth china. He was also an important collector of china, jade and old Venetian and German glass, acquiring many of his pieces from sales of well-known collections such as the Beckford, the Bernal, the Guthrie, the Magniac and the Wells.
He became an Associate of the British Archaeological Association in 1863 and was elected to the BAA council in 1871 and regularly contributed to discussions on a broad range of subjects, often taking along objects from his own collections.
In 1880, Mr. Cope published the first of his articles, on the subject of jade, for the Journal of the BAA. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 1st July 1886 and was elected Vice-President of the BAA in June 1889, a post he continued to hold until his death in 1903.
He bequeathed his collections to The Victoria and Albert Museum.

This expertly fashioned mirror frame was made within the Mughal empire in the 18th century from a single piece of green nephrite jade. The back has been very skillfully pierced with a design of leaves and flowers, and lined with red velvet. There is an integral, pierced and carved ornament at one end and there is evidence of a now-lost handle or matching ornament on the opposing edge. The edges of the mirror are set with 43 of an original 44 ruby cabochons (one now missing) in gold.
The mirror was bequeathed to the museum by William Henry Cope Esq., a member of the British Archaeological Association who was also an important collector of jade and other hardstone objects.

755-1903