MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1800

The present substantial emerald is carved to the front with a naturalistic flowering plant, its stem following the contours of the stone, and with a petal design to the reverse. The preservation of the natural form of the crystal and the restrained floral carving are characteristic of the Mughal lapidary tradition. Comparable examples include a carved emerald in the British Museum, London (2001,0505.6), dating to the late 17th–early 18th century and similarly carved with floral decoration, and a 17th/18th-century carved Mughal emerald sold at Sotheby’s London, 24 October 2018, lot 179, carved with flowering stems on both sides. See E. Shcherbina, India: Jewels That Enchanted the World, London, 2014, pg.196-7 for similar examples of carved Mughal emeralds, pp.272, 286-293 and Keene 2001, pp.111-114, for carved emeralds in the Al-Sabah collection, Kuwait National Museum.