MUGHAL INDIA, 18TH CENTURY

This beautifully carved jade spittoon is an excellent example of the Mughal prowess in hardstone carving. It is thought that nephrite and related hardstones were introduced to the Mughals in the mid-16th 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’ (Joseph M. Dye III, The Arts of India, Virginia, 2001, p.408). The production of Mughal jade carvings flourished under the patronage of Jahangir (r.1605-1628). He actively collected 15th 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 and vegetal forms 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. A near identical spittoon dated to the 17th century is in the al-Sabah collection, Kuwait (LNS 234 HS; illustrated Salam Kaoukji, Adornment and splendour, jewels of the Indian Courts, London and New York, 2023, cat.116, pp. 290-291). Both examples share a gently curved body carved with acanthus leaf decoration and with a delicate curving acanthus leaf handle.