Mirror Frame
| Place of origin |
This intricately pierced mirror frame very clearly illustrates the skill of the craftsmen producing fine objects within the Mughal empire in the late 18th or early 19th centuries. 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. Objects such as this would have been destined only for wealthy or powerful people.
The mirror was originally acquired by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie, the famous collector of Mughal and later hardstones, but sold at auction in London in 1875 following his death. It was bought by another notable collector, Arthur Wells, and bequeathed by him with other Guthrie hardstones in 1882.
The mirror was originally acquired by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie, the famous collector of Mughal and later hardstones, but sold at auction in London in 1875 following his death. It was bought by another notable collector, Arthur Wells, and bequeathed by him with other Guthrie hardstones in 1882.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Very pale green to white nephrite jade. Pierced, carved and polished using abrasives and abrasive-charged tools. |
| Brief description | An oval mirror frame and back, carved and pierced openwork, very pale green to white nephrite jade, India |
| Physical description | An oval mirror frame and back, fashioned in one piece in very pale green to white nephrite jade. The frame has an outer border of pierced, three-lobed leaves that have been carved with detail in low relief and this border surrounds a narrow oval ring. Within this ring, the front face has been recessed to approximately 50% of the original thickness and the remaining back plate has been expertly pierced with a flower and leaf design. At one of the narrow ends of the oval border of leaves, there is a flattened flower finial and at the opposite end there is a larger, more elaborately pierced adornment. These end-pieces have also been carved with detail in low relief. The back face has been finely carved in low relief with detail of the flower and leaf design and it has been given a good polish. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Wells Bequest |
| Object history | This mirror frame was fashioned within the Mughal empire and was acquired by Arthur Wells who was a Nottingham solicitor and Clerk of the Peace. He was a keen traveller and was made a Fellow of the Geographical Society. He is considered to be the first private British collector of Chinese jade and his collection of jade and other hardstone objects from South Asia was on exhibition at the South Kensington Museum at the time of his death in 1882. This collection was left to the museum in his will - the Wells Bequest. |
| Summary | This intricately pierced mirror frame very clearly illustrates the skill of the craftsmen producing fine objects within the Mughal empire in the late 18th or early 19th centuries. 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. Objects such as this would have been destined only for wealthy or powerful people. The mirror was originally acquired by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie, the famous collector of Mughal and later hardstones, but sold at auction in London in 1875 following his death. It was bought by another notable collector, Arthur Wells, and bequeathed by him with other Guthrie hardstones in 1882. |
| Bibliographic reference | The art of India and Pakistan, a commemorative catalogue of the exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1947-8. Edited by Sir Leigh Ashton. London: Faber and Faber, [1950]
p. 227, cat. no. 1134 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1644-1882 |
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| Record created | September 27, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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