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Crutch ('Zafar Takiya') Head
Crutch ('Zafar Takiya') Head
LNS 124 HS
Carved from nephrite jade (light slightly grayish green, translucent and uniform); formerly inlaid with gold and set with gemstones in kundan technique; the steel ferrule overlaid with gold
Height 85 mm; width 114 mm; thickness 20 mm
India, probably Deccan, c. 2nd quarter 17th century AD (ferrule later, probably 19th century AD)
Photography by Bruce M. White

Relief-Carved Ornament

The material shown in this section of the exhibition consists of gems and hardstones of the Mughal period in which relief-carved ornament is particularly noteworthy. The pieces are hardstones, from crystalline emerald and rock crystal to the tougher, finely crystallized agates and jades. All are too hard to cut with steel tools; the work is done by abrasive grits and powders (delivered by wheels and drills of soft metals, wood, or lac) that grind the stone to form and then polish it-done in conjunction with water or oil to avoid a catastrophic build-up of heat, to wash away the slurry, and, in some applications, to help hold the abrasive in contact with the rotating tool. Expertise in such carving was of long standing in the Indian subcontinent, the original home of the knowledge of precious stones. By the Mughal period, the subcontinent had been the world's most important producer and exporter of items manufactured from hardstones for thousands of years.

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