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Not currently on display at the V&A

Cup & Saucer

c. 1850 (made)
Place of origin

This cup and saucer would have been made primarily as an ornament rather than for use. Although agate is a tough and durable material, it is prone to crack when subjected to sudden and significant changes in temperature. Also, when worked to give fine edges or thicknesses, it is easily chipped or cracked when knocked. With this in mind, finely worked agate vessels that survive undamaged are uncommon.
The cup and saucer were made in Cambay (Khambhat), India in the 19th century with most of the fashioning process being a combination of hand-working and by turning on a bow-driven lathe.
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
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Cup
  • Saucer
Materials and techniques
Moss agate, cut & polished using abrasives, most probably fashioned by turning on a bow-driven lathe
Brief description
Cup and saucer, circular, each having a short recessed foot with rim, green moss agate, some damage, Cambay India, c. 1850
Physical description
A circular cup and saucer fashioned in green moss agate, with both having plain, polished surfaces and standing on a short recessed foot with rim. There is a chip taken out of saucer rim and it has been reattached and there is a chip missing from saucer's foot rim.
Dimensions
  • Cup (01380( is)) diameter: 69.6 to 70.4mm
  • Cup (01380( is)) height: 39.5mm
  • Cup (01380( is)) thickness: 1.3 to 2.0mm (Note: Thickness of wall at rim)
  • Cup (01380( is)) depth: 31.6 to 32.0mm (Note: Internal depth from rim)
  • Cup (01380( is)) diameter: 23.75 to 23.90mm (Note: External diameter of foot)
  • Cup (01380( is)) depth: 4.8mm (Note: Depth of foot recess)
  • Saucer (01380 a ( is)) diameter: 107.0 to 107.7mm
  • Saucer (01380 a ( is)) height: 16.6 to 18.8mm
  • Saucer (01380 a ( is)) thickness: 1.6 to 2.0mm (Note: Thickness at rim)
  • Saucer (01380 a ( is)) depth: 12.5mm (Note: Internal depth from rim)
  • Saucer (01380 a ( is)) diameter: 45.9 to 46.6mm (Note: External diameter of foot)
  • Saucer (01380 a ( is)) depth: 2.8mm (Note: Depth of foot recess)
Dimensions vary with orientation
Object history
These objects were formerly in The India Museum in London and they were then transferred to the South Kensington Museum (later renamed The Victoria & Albert Museum) in 1879. 1880 Register Entry: [Room 8. Case .] '01,380. CUP and saucer. Moss agate. ?51'
Summary
This cup and saucer would have been made primarily as an ornament rather than for use. Although agate is a tough and durable material, it is prone to crack when subjected to sudden and significant changes in temperature. Also, when worked to give fine edges or thicknesses, it is easily chipped or cracked when knocked. With this in mind, finely worked agate vessels that survive undamaged are uncommon.
The cup and saucer were made in Cambay (Khambhat), India in the 19th century with most of the fashioning process being a combination of hand-working and by turning on a bow-driven lathe.
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.
Associated objects
Other number
?51 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
Accession number
01380(IS) to 01380A/(IS)

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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