AN ARABIC-INSCRIBED JADE TWIN-HANDLED JAR, MUGHAL INDIA, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

AN ARABIC-INSCRIBED JADE TWIN-HANDLED JAR, MUGHAL INDIA, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

Finely carved, the globular body supported on a short, gently flared foot, with high rounded shoulders rising to a slightly waisted neck and a broad circular mouth with a flat rim. The sides are set with two neatly incised foliate handles. The body is carved with lobed cartouches enclosing calligraphic inscriptions, while the neck is encircled by a band of leafy floral scroll, all highlighted with gold pigment. The finely polished, translucent stone is of a celadon tone with dark green and pale russet inclusions.

Inscriptions: To the body, on each side, in naskh comprising Surat al-Ikhlas (Qur'an 112:1–4), which may be translated as:

Say: He is Allah, One; Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Provenance: French trade. By repute acquired from a private collection in Paris, France.

Condition: Overall good condition with expected wear, traces of use, small chips along the foot rim, a minor old repair at the mouth, the stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 941.9 g
Dimensions: Height 10.8 cm, Width 17.3 cm (across handles)

This delicately carved jar is a fine example of the hardstone carvings that were popular in the Mughal period, from the reign of Emperor Akbar (1542-1605) onwards. It is thought that nephrite and related hardstones were introduced to the Mughals in the mid-sixteenth century when a Khotanese jade merchant 'visited the Emperor Akbar's court and enabled the Mughals to indulge a taste for jade already acquired by their Timurid ancestors in Central Asia'. See Joseph M. Dye III, The Arts of India, 2001, p.408.

The production of Mughal jade carvings flourished under the patronage of Jahangir

(r.1605-1628). He actively collected fifteenth century Timurid and Chinese metal and ceramic vessels inscribing them with his titles and poetic verses. The jade wine cups produced early in his reign often imitated these earlier forms. Floral forms and vegetal ornamental motifs in jade carving began to appear later in his reign after his visit to the lush green valleys of Kashmir in 1620. Mughal jades reached their full artistic potential under Emperor Shah Jahan (r.1628-58) with artisans continuing to use floral imagery and Mughal jades displaying a more delicate manner of execution and a greater sophistication of technique.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related jade wine cup made for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, incised with an inscription recording the date of manufacture (1613) along with several Persian verses, 8.8 cm diameter, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession no. IM.152-1924.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby's London, 29 October 2025, lot 195
Price: GBP 38,100 or approx.

EUR 46,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A spinach-green jade cup from the reign of Awrangzeb, Mughal, India, second half 17th century
Expert remark: Compare the related manner of carving and incised calligraphic inscription (albeit in nastaliq). Note the smaller width (7.8 cm).

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