INDO-PORTUGUESE, GUJARAT, 17TH CENTURY

Sets of ewers and basins in the Gujarat mother-of-pearl technique were made for both domestic use and export and are known to have been imported as luxury goods to European royal collections in the 16^th century. These lustrous vessels and containers were made into combined Islamic and Western shapes. As preciously crafted items in such a highly coveted material in the courts of Europe, they were most often on display and seldomly used for dining.
The present ewer takes a surahi shape, with a long neck and bulbous body. While keeping with the indicative repetition of interlocking forms made from the individual mother-of-pearl pieces and traditional lotus flower pattern on the basin, this example includes an individualized intricacy seen in the variance between each layer radiating from the center of the basin and on each element and joint on the ewer. Adding individuality to the copious variety of petals, leaves, scallops and tiling, is the large scale of the fluted pieces comprising the ewer’s central form. Surahi examples with similar sized mother-of-pearl include a 26.2 cm. high ewer at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (Inv. nr. Kunstkammer, 4099) and one sold at Christie’s, Paris on 7 December 2005 as lot 63 (370,000 Euros).