A Mughal rock crystal mango-shaped flask, India, circa 18th century

Exquisitely carved rock-crystal objects such as this mango-shaped flask were created as luxury objects for courtly use during the Mughal period. Rock crystal was a rare and precious commodity in Mughal India, rarer even than the finest jade. Flasks such as this are likely to have been used as a container for perfume, which was worn by both men and women in the Mughal period, or for holding lime, an ingredient of paan. The gently curving mango form of the flask, inspired by nature, is a motif often used in the decorative arts in India, commonly seen in textiles and in jewellery.

There are earlier known examples of Mughal rock crystal mango-shaped flasks of similar size, dated to the seventeenth century, inlaid with precious stones set in gold. One is in the collections of Burghley House, Lincolnshire (Leatham 1992, p.170); another is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no.1993.18); a third is in the David Collection, Copenhagen (Blair and Bloom 2006, cat.96, p.171); a fourth was previously in the Heeramaneck Collection, New York (Welch 1963, cat.54, p.118). A further example, formerly in the Edith & Stuart Cary Welch Collection, sold recently in these rooms, 25 October 2023, lot 21. A later, nineteenth century example, sold at Christie’s, South Kensington, Arts of India, 1 October 2012, lot 180.