A Mother-of-pearl casket, India, Gujarat, 17th century

the wood body of rectangular form supported on four raised feet with vaulted cover with two palmette hinges and foliate lock-plate, the exterior decorated with plaques of mother-of-pearl secured with brass pins, the top and sides with imbricated panels enclosed by rectangular and polygon borders, painted red interior and base

in good condition, minor abrasions and cracks to mother-of-pearl consistent with age,some rubbing and loss to red painted interior, as viewed
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Records from the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) in Dresden indicate that Gujarati mother-of-pearl wares were being imported to Europe from as early as the second quarter of the sixteenth century. The commissioning of such wares was particularly associated with the Portuguese. These precious objects would have reached Britain via merchants during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuires as luxury imports. Mother-of-pearl articles are listed in sixteenth-century English royal inventories, for example, in 1534 Thomas Cromwell presented Henry VIII with a mother-of-pearl ewer set in gold as a New Year's present (Jaffer 2002, p.39, no.11).

The earliest dated mother-of-pearl objects are a ewer and basin formerly in the Kunstkammer of the Electors of Saxony dated by its Nuremberg mounts to before 1530. Further dating evidence is provided by the cenotaph of the tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti at Fatepur Sikri, 1569-1585, which displays the same lobed mother-of-pearl revetment seen on the sides and top of this casket.