Mirror in frame, octagonal, missing handle, dark green nephrite jade, carved depressions for inlaid stones and gold, India

An octagonal glass mirror set into a dark green nephrite jade frame which appears to have been carved from a single piece of material. The frame has a bevelled front and a flat back. On one edge there is a long, narrow cavity into which the handle would have been set.
There are twenty-four shallow, oval depressions carved into the front, bevelled face with each depression having a shallow carved channel, intended for the setting of stones and inlaid gold.
Over the whole of the back face, there is a branching plant design of fine channels and oval depressions intended for the setting of stones and inlaid gold.

This mirror back was bought in 1876 by The South Kensington Museum (later renamed the Victoria & Albert Museum) for the sum of £1-15-0.

The mirror back, made in India probably in the early 19th century, has been carved from a single piece of nephrite jade. There are recesses and engraved channels carved into the back for the setting of gold and stones. There are no obvious signs that the stones had been in place and later removed, therefore it is possible that the mirror was not finished, conceivably due to breakage of the handle. As a finished mirror, it would have been in the possession of a person of some means.

649-1876