Salver, scallop shell shaped with fifteen lobes, curled and pierced handle, off white nephrite jade, Mughal, 18th century

A shallow dish of a scallop shell form fashioned in off-white nephrite jade, with a good polish. On the upper surface, there are fifteen, gently concave lobes extending from a carved, gently "V" shaped ridge on one end out to the scalloped rim at the other end. There is a small pierced and carved handle emanating from the cleft of the "V" shaped end. On the underside the lobes are gently convex and there is a central, oblong foot that has been carved in low relief detail as a four-petalled poppy with a three-tiered, multi-petalled ring surrounding an oval centre. There is a small beige patch of included material in one corner.

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Schwaiger Bequest

This dish was bequeathed by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Schwaiger.

Adele Helena Schwaiger (nee Dixon), was an actress and singer. She studied at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and later trained at RADA.
In August 1928, she married Ernest Schwaiger, a jeweller working at Cartier and who was the son of Imre Schwaiger, a leading dealer and authority on gems and eastern works of art. Her last appearance was in the West End musical, Belinda Fair, after which she retired.
Adele and Ernest amassed a significant collection of eastern works of art including Mughal Empire and Chinese jades and other hardstones as well as Japanese netsukes. They remained a devoted couple until Ernest's death in 1976 and, following Adele's death in 1992, their collection was bequeathed to The Victoria & Albert Museum.

This well-crafted dish was made within the Mughal empire in the 18th century. It has been expertly fashioned from a single piece of nephrite jade, which is a hard and durable material that requires patience and skill to work. Although it is a hard material, when it has been worked to give fine edges or thicknesses, it can be prone to damage by sharp impacts or significant and rapid changes in temperature.

IS.20-1997