Lobed bowl with lotus bud handles, greyish blue/green nephrite jade, Mughal, late 17th century.

A twelve-lobed bowl of generally circular form, with a smooth but ridged, polished interior. Fashioned in greyish blue/green nephrite jade, the bowl stands on a short flared foot that has been recessed and carved with a poppy-like flower with large, ribbed petals, the slightly furled outer edges of which form the foot rim upon which the bowl rests. The outer walls are smooth and well polished with a small leaf frond carved in low relief at the base of each lobe and rising from the junction with the foot. On either side of the bowl, from underneath the smaller frond, a larger leaf frond rises to the rim where a carved and pierced, drooping flower bud emerges to form the two handles. The rim edge of the two handle-bearing lobes is raised above the somewhat uneven level of the other lobes. One lobe has a number of small, naturally occurring cracks and there are several brownish streaks that correspond to natural healed fractures.

Bequeathed by Mr and Mrs Ernest Schwaiger

This bowl was bequeathed by Mr and Mrs Ernest Schwaiger. Ernest Schwaiger was the son of Imre Schwaiger, the Hungarian dealer who lived in India in the early 20th century. He met Jacques Cartier when the jeweller arrived for the Delhi Durbar in 1911 and introduced him to many princely families. The two became good friends, and Ernest eventually worked for the firm of Cartier in Paris. It is possible that this piece was originally owned by Imre Schwaiger.

This wine bowl was made within the Mughal empire, probably in the imperial workshops in the mid-17th century. It very clearly illustrates the skill of the craftsmen who were producing fine objects during the time of the Mughal empire. 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. The surface has been given a high, glassy polish.

IS.25-1997