A BRONZE LOTIFORM PANDAN, RAJASTHAN, 18TH CENTURY

Cast in two pieces each forming one half of a stylised eight-petalled flower, the lower half on a flat base divided internally with a central circular compartment surrounded by eight petal-form sub-divisions, one with traces of lime-paste, raised edges around each compartment protruding into the carefully fitted cover, a devanagiri letter incised on the rim of the base and cover to indicate alignment

The internal divisions of this container suggest that it was intended to house separately the ingredients for pan chewing. There is frequent recourse to natural forms in Mughal metalwork (Zebrowski 1997, p.276). Some of this interest may belie the origin of the forms, where forerunners were hollowed out fruit and vegetables. A melonate form is popular in ewers and containers, a pandan explicitly employing this form would appear to be of a similar lineage to the present pandan (Zebrowski 1997, p.275, no.474). Similarly, the mango is inspiration for a number of small huqqa bases, notably some made in bidriware (Zebrowski 1997, pp.240-241, nos.409-411). The lotus is a favoured motif in Indian art of long-standing. It may have been deemed particularly appropriate for the design of a pandan as it easily adapts to a compartmentalised structure.