Pen box, tray and cover, Mughal empire, c. 1800-1850
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
c. 1800-1850
Pen box, tray and cover in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number 1672:1 to 3-1882), made in Mughal empire, dated c. 1800-1850. The museum's brief description reads: Pen box, tray and cover, elongated, green nephrite openwork, white nephrite body, white alabaster (most probably) tray, inset gems, Mughal empire.
Museum description: A pen/writing box and cover of elongated octagonal form and a removable, elongated rectangular tray. The box's white nephrite jade body has been fashioned in two pieces, with the sides and suspended, internal partition walls being fashioned as a single piece which has then been cemented to a second piece forming the base and four short legs which in turn attach to small, green nephrite feet via internal round pegs.
The main, internal partition walls have small protrusions to allow the tray to rest suspended above the floor of the box, and the rim has been stepped to give a raised inner rim to locate and secure the cover in place. The outside walls have been set with pierced openwork fashioned in green nephrite that has been carved in the form of bunches of grapes and vine leaves. Sandwiched between the green openwork and the white nephrite walls is a thin layer of a white material that has fine layers of differing translucency and is most probably a thin sheet of the non-nacreous… The museum records it as Nephrite, ruby, emerald, diamond, gold and alabaster.
Fashioned, carved and polished using abrasives and abrasive-charged tools, and employing a number of varied techniques., measuring Length 279.5 mm; Width 102.5 mm; Height 61.0 mm; Depth 42.5 mm; Length 279.5 mm; Width 102.4 mm; Height 13.5 mm; Length 203.5 mm; Width 85.1 mm; Height 23.3 to 24.0 mm; Depth 21.5 to 22.5 mm; Height…. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- 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
This pen box has been very expertly fashioned and is constructed from a number of different materials and many hundreds of components. It was made within the Mughal empire, perhaps in the first half of the 19th century. The white nephrite jade body has been fashioned in two pieces, with the sides and suspended, internal partition walls being fashioned as a single piece which has then been cemented to a second piece forming the base and four short legs which in turn attach to small, green nephrite feet via internal round pegs. The main, internal partition walls have small protrusions to allow the tray to rest suspended above the floor of the box, and the rim has been stepped to give a raised inner rim to locate and secure the cover in place. The outside walls have been set with pierced openwork green nephrite panels carved with grapes and vine leaves. Between the green openwork and the white nephrite walls is a thin layer of a white material that has fine layers of differing translucency and is most probably a thin sheet of the non-nacreous shell of the giant clam. The openwork panels lie between upper and lower borders of the white nephrite body which have been given a concave contour. These borders originally had 226 rubies of which one is now missing, each one individually fashioned to lie flush with the border. The rubies have been set into mirrored gold settings. There is evidence of repaired damage, particularly to one end. The tray has been fashioned from a single…
Physical characteristics
- Material
- nephrite, ruby, emerald, diamond, gold, alabaster
- Dimensions
- Length 279.5 mm; Width 102.5 mm; Height 61.0 mm; Depth 42.5 mm; Length 279.5 mm; Width 102.4 mm; Height 13.5 mm; Length 203.5 mm; Width 85.1 mm; Height 23.3 to 24.0 mm; Depth 21.5 to 22.5 mm; Height 72.5 mm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Nephrite, ruby, emerald, diamond, gold and alabaster. Fashioned, carved and polished using abrasives and abrasive-charged tools, and employing a number of varied techniques.
- Place recorded
- Mughal empire
Identification
- Museum object name
- Pen box, tray and cover
- Museum object number
- 1672:1 to 3-1882
- Museum system number
- O452327
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 catalogue references against a specialist reference.