Lot Essay
As is evident from the catalogue of the recent exhibition in Lisbon (loc. cit.), objects of this type, veneered in mother-of-pearl, were produced in large numbers in India where they must always have been intended for the European market. The height of this activity appears to have been in the 17th century, although one dish in the exhibition is dated as early as 1568 (Lisbon, op. cit., no. 13).