Lot Essay
The way that the ends of the petals on the underside of this dish curve round to form the legs is very reminiscent of the famous white nephrite drinking cup in the Victoria and Albert Museum inscribed with the monogram of Shah Jahan (inv. I.S. 12-1962, Stuart Cary Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, New York 1985, no. 167, p. 258). The strong floral design on our dish with slightly recessed central point is very similar to the design on the underside of a Mughal gunpowder flask dated to the mid-17th Century, (Stuart Carey Welch, op.cit, no. 173, p. 263).