Book cover, nephrite, gold and ruby, Mughal, 18th century
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
18th century
It is in three sections, fashioned in very pale greyish green nephrite. Each section has has been set with rubies in gold and inlaid with pierced panels of dark green nephrite, also in gold. There is additional inlay of fine, gold wires. The hinges are formed by integral, interlocking sections linked together by thin metal rods capped by gold-set rubies, one of which is now missing.
In total there are 164 (from an original 168) rubies and 45 separate, pierced panels of dark green nephrite. These were transferred to this museum in 1879. A hinged book cover in three parts, fashioned in very pale greyish green nephrite. Each part has been inset with rubies in gold and inlaid with pierced panels of dark green nephrite set in gold. The hinges are formed by integral, interlocking sections of tube that have been linked together by thin metal rods capped by gold-set rubies, one stone is missing. In total there are 164 (from a total of 168) rubies and 45 pierced panels of dark green nephrite. One ruby is missing and three could not be positively identified as rubies, instead owing their colour to red-stained settings.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 3
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
It was subsequently transferred to The South Kensington Museum (later renamed The Victoria & Albert Museum) in 1879. Charles Seton Guthrie was an important collector of eastern coins and Mughal Empire jade and rock crystal objects. He was the second son of Scottish parents, both of whom were from noble and landed families, and his father worked for the East India Company in Calcutta.
Guthrie most probably developed his interest in jade and rock crystal when he studied geology as a 17 year old cadet in 1825 in Addiscombe, and he joined the Bengal Engineers in 1828. Through his family’s established connection with the Inglis and Lister families, he became acquainted with Harry Inglis and his Anglo-Indian wife Sophia (nee Lister).
He may well have received gifts of objects that Harry had acquired as proceeds from his Indian military campaigns. Harry was the son and heir of George Inglis who owned Inglis & Co., a large Indian trading company. During his time in India, Charles Guthrie enhanced his collections with acquisitions financed by his army pay and also income from properties in his late mother’s estate.
He subsequently retired at the honorary rank of Colonel in 1857, although he returned to England in 1855, at the same time as Harry and Sophia, due to having 2 years of accumulated leave. Following Harry’s death in 1860, his embalmed body was returned to India, accompanied by Sophia and Charles, where it was interred in an above-ground tomb.
Sophia inherited Harry’s vast estate, which almost certainly contained many fine jewels and Mughal objects. Sophia began living together with Charles in Calcutta, bearing him a son in 1862. Following a financially significant arrangement being agreed by Sophia with Charles, the two eventually married in 1863 with the family returning to England a short time thereafter.
Sophia died in 1866, with Charles being named as an executor with instruction to liquidate her un-itemised English estate which included “jewels, trinkets and shawls”.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Nephrite, gold and ruby, fashioned using a variety of techniques.
- Dimensions
- Length: 223.0 mm; Width: 109.1 mm; Thickness: 4.1 mm; Width: 87.5 to 88.4 mm; Width: 36.5 to 36.9 mm
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Mughal Empire
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O128039
- Museum object name
- Book cover
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- 02584(IS)
- Museum system number
- O128039
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.