Cup
1800-1895 (made)
Place of origin |
The cup was made in Cambay (Khambhat), India in the 19th century with most of the fashioning process involving a combination of hand-working and turning on a bow-driven lathe. 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, most probably fashioned using a bow-driven lathe. |
Brief description | Cup, circular, short foot with a concave recess and a flared rim, translucent brown agate, Cambay India, 19th century |
Physical description | A cup of circular form with a wall of even thickness and having a short foot with a concave recess and a flared rim. It has been skillfully fashioned in translucent, brown agate with occasional darker markings and it has a very fine polish. There is a short crack situated centrally in the base. |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | W. H. Cope Bequest |
Object history | This cup was fashioned in Cambay (Khambhat), India in the 19th century. It was acquired by William Henry Cope Esq. who valued it, together with a second similar cup, at £22-1s. He bequeathed it to the museum in 1903. |
Summary | The cup was made in Cambay (Khambhat), India in the 19th century with most of the fashioning process involving a combination of hand-working and turning on a bow-driven lathe. 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. |
Collection | |
Accession number | 735-1903 |
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Record created | June 25, 2009 |
Record URL |
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