Powder Flask

This gilded, polychrome-painted, lacquered wooden powder flask was in Mughal India during the 18th century. Although created under a Muslim dynasty, its imagery is Hindu. A mythical sea creature called a makara, which serves as the goddess Ganga's (the deified and anthropomorphised River Ganges) vehicle (vahana). It is entangled with a hamsa, a goose or swan associated with the goddess Saraswati and her husband, the god Brahma.
This combination of motifs reflects the cultural diversity of the Mughal court, where Hindu, Muslim, and Jain artisans worked together in the royal workshops. Their creations were valued not only for their symbolic meaning but also for their technical skill and artistic beauty.