Leaf-Shaped Jade Cup

Tiny and delicate jade cups were produced in quantity at the Mughal court, often in the form of gourds and other organic shapes. The best known of the group, with a spectacular ram's head handle, was made for Shah Jahan (r. 1037-68 AH/1628-58 CE) and is dated 1067 AH/1657 CE. In connection with this evidence, production of these cups (differentiated from the larger, heavier jade bowls made in Jahangir's time (r. 1013-37AH/1605-27 CE), is typically dated to the mid-seventeenth century and later. This cup has been carved into the shape of a leaf, with a shallow, rounded body, with thin, semi-translucent sidewalls. The interior of the cup is smoothly polished, while the exterior has a raised midrib and delicately indicated veins. The handle is in the shape of a tightly curled acanthus leaf.