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拍品專文
At 178.96 carats this is one of the most important inscribed Mughal spinels ever to appear at auction. The massive example, formerly known as the 'Timur Ruby' which now forms part of the British crown jewels is the largest such inscribed gem, weighing 352.5 carats. The Al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait also contains a magnificent collection of spinel beads, the largest of which are:
cat.no.12.1 Inscribed Royal Spinel weighing 249.3 carats
cat.no.12.22 Inscribed Royal Spinel weighing 245.9 carats
cat.no.12.16 Inscribed Royal Spinel weighing 186.1 carats (M.Keene and S.Kaoukji, Treasury of the World, exhibition catalogue, Thames and Hudson, London, 2001, pp.135, 140 and 139).
Further large inscribed spinels are in Iran, the result of the 1739 looting by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah of numerous jewels and articles from the Mughal treasury. One of these is the spinel bead necklace comprising 20 beads weighing a total of 2310 carats, with the three largest weighing approximately 175-200 carats each (V.B.Meen and A.D.Tushingham, Crown Jewels of Iran, Toronto, 1968, p. 66). Another historic and large inscribed spinel bead is the 'Carew Spinel' weighing 133.5 carats, displayed in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (P. Pal et al., The Romance of the Taj Mahal, Los Angeles, 1989, no.135, p.135).
The habit of inscribing objects and gems to personalise them dated back to the Timurid period. Its importance to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir is demonstrated by a passage in the Tuzuk-i Jahangiri which describes a particular large spinel which has recently been identified as the first of the three noted above now in the Al-Sabah Collection. The emperor described it:
"My brother [Shah 'Abbas I of Iran] also sent a ruby weighing 12 tanks which had belonged to the jewel chamber of Mir Ulugh Beg, the successor of Mir Shah Rukh which in the course of time, and by the revolutions of fate, had come into the hands of the Safavi family. On this ruby there were engraved in the naskh character the words "Ulugh Beg b. Mir Shah Rukh Bahadur b. Mir Timur Gurgani" My brother Shah 'Abbas directed that in another corner they should cut the words "Banda-i shah wilayat 'Abbas" in the nasta'liq character. He had this ruby inserted in a jigha and sent to me as a souvenir. As the ruby bore the names of my ancestors I took it as a blessing for myself and bade Sa'ida, the superintendant of the goldsmiths department, engraved in another corner the words Jahangir Shah b. Akbar Shah and the current date. After some days, when the news of the conquest of the Deccan arrived, I gave that ruby to Khurram [the future Shah Jahan] and sent it to him" (The Tuzuk-i Jahangiri or Memoirs of Jahangir, translated by Alexander Rogers and edited by Henry Beveridge, London, 1968, vol.2, p.195).
This passage clearly demonstrates both the importance which the Mughal emperors placed on their precious stones, and also the importance of the dynastic inscriptions on them. The present stone is engraved with the name of Shah Jahan (1627-1659), the former Prince Khurram mentioned above, and was then subsequently engraved by his son, the emperor Aurangzeb (1659-1707).
cat.no.12.1 Inscribed Royal Spinel weighing 249.3 carats
cat.no.12.22 Inscribed Royal Spinel weighing 245.9 carats
cat.no.12.16 Inscribed Royal Spinel weighing 186.1 carats (M.Keene and S.Kaoukji, Treasury of the World, exhibition catalogue, Thames and Hudson, London, 2001, pp.135, 140 and 139).
Further large inscribed spinels are in Iran, the result of the 1739 looting by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah of numerous jewels and articles from the Mughal treasury. One of these is the spinel bead necklace comprising 20 beads weighing a total of 2310 carats, with the three largest weighing approximately 175-200 carats each (V.B.Meen and A.D.Tushingham, Crown Jewels of Iran, Toronto, 1968, p. 66). Another historic and large inscribed spinel bead is the 'Carew Spinel' weighing 133.5 carats, displayed in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (P. Pal et al., The Romance of the Taj Mahal, Los Angeles, 1989, no.135, p.135).
The habit of inscribing objects and gems to personalise them dated back to the Timurid period. Its importance to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir is demonstrated by a passage in the Tuzuk-i Jahangiri which describes a particular large spinel which has recently been identified as the first of the three noted above now in the Al-Sabah Collection. The emperor described it:
"My brother [Shah 'Abbas I of Iran] also sent a ruby weighing 12 tanks which had belonged to the jewel chamber of Mir Ulugh Beg, the successor of Mir Shah Rukh which in the course of time, and by the revolutions of fate, had come into the hands of the Safavi family. On this ruby there were engraved in the naskh character the words "Ulugh Beg b. Mir Shah Rukh Bahadur b. Mir Timur Gurgani" My brother Shah 'Abbas directed that in another corner they should cut the words "Banda-i shah wilayat 'Abbas" in the nasta'liq character. He had this ruby inserted in a jigha and sent to me as a souvenir. As the ruby bore the names of my ancestors I took it as a blessing for myself and bade Sa'ida, the superintendant of the goldsmiths department, engraved in another corner the words Jahangir Shah b. Akbar Shah and the current date. After some days, when the news of the conquest of the Deccan arrived, I gave that ruby to Khurram [the future Shah Jahan] and sent it to him" (The Tuzuk-i Jahangiri or Memoirs of Jahangir, translated by Alexander Rogers and edited by Henry Beveridge, London, 1968, vol.2, p.195).
This passage clearly demonstrates both the importance which the Mughal emperors placed on their precious stones, and also the importance of the dynastic inscriptions on them. The present stone is engraved with the name of Shah Jahan (1627-1659), the former Prince Khurram mentioned above, and was then subsequently engraved by his son, the emperor Aurangzeb (1659-1707).