Brass vessel of compressed spherical form with short neck and everted rim. Cast with engraved decoration, the hatched ground filled with the black decoration. Mughal empire, c.1580-1600.

Vase, brass, cast with engraved decoration, the hatched ground filled with the black composition. Mughal empire, c.1580-1600.

Purchased from F. Headen Cope, Esqre, Principal of C. J. College, Lahore

All the inscriptions on this vase, both on the outside and covering the interior surface, are in a bold, finely engraved naskhi script. The outside bears invocations to the 'Panj ahl-e beyt', or 'five Members of the House of Muhammad' and the inside has Koranic suras. The vessel seems originally to have had a spout. It is one of the earliest examples of metal wares so far known to have a form strongly characteristic of the Indian subcontinent but combined with purely Iranian decoration.

It was bought for six guineas (£6. 6s. 6d) from F. Headen Cope, Esqre, Principal of C. J. College, Lahore, and placed in the Metal Room in the museum, 15th July, 1889. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project.

probably Lahore

This water vessel was made within the Mughal empire, probably between about 1580 and 1600. All the inscriptions on the outer and inner surfaces are in a bold, finely engraved naskh. The outside bears invocations to the Panj Ahl-e Beyt, or 'Five Members of the House' of the Prophet Muhammad, and the inside Koranic verses. The decoration is based on Safavid designs of the period of Shah Tahmasp of Iran, but the form is characteristic of the Indian subcontinent.

IS.21-1889