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A green jade bowl in the shape of an oval with leaf handles

A green jade bowl in the shape of an oval with a thin rim widens between its handles on either side, slightly curving inwards to a shorter and darker green base. The darker green handles resemble the tips of drooping leaves sprouting from a vertical leaf-like pattern alongside each end of the bowl, ending at its base. Along the bottom of the wider sides of the bowl is a simple jagged pattern above the base.

Gallery Text

Bowls of this shape were carried by Muslim mendicants and ascetics who renounced worldly possessions and relied on alms for sustenance. Carved from a single piece of jade, this bowl is unlikely to have served as an ascetic’s begging bowl. It was probably intended for display in a shrine or gathering place for mystics. By its very form the bowl would have reminded viewers of alms-giving—an essential duty for Muslims.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1995.823
Title
Ornamental Alms Bowl (Kashkul) with Foliate Decoration
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
17th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India
Period
Mughal period
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215066

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2590, South Asian Art, South Asia in the Medieval and Early Modern Eras
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Jade
Dimensions
H: 6 x W: 18.5 x Depth: 12.8 cm (2 3/8 x 7 5/16 x 5 1/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Edwin Binney, 3rd, California (before 1985), bequest; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1995.

NOTE:

Stored at the San Diego Museum of Art from some time before 1986 until 1991, then at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 1991 to 1995.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard Art Museums
Accession Year
1995
Object Number
1995.823
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
Bowls of this shape were carried by Muslim mendicants and ascetics who renounced worldly possessions and relied on alms for sustenance. Carved from a single piece of jade, this bowl is unlikely to have served as an ascetic’s begging bowl. It was probably intended for display in a shrine or gathering place for mystics. By its very form the bowl would have reminded viewers of alms-giving—an essential duty for Muslims.

Publication History

  • Yuka Kadoi, Exchanges of Shapes, Exchanges of Materials: Arts of Jade in Islamic Eurasia, Orientations Magazine, Orientations Magazine Ltd. (Hong Kong, China, 3 April 2013), Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 48-52, p. 52, fig. 8

Exhibition History

  • Divinely Inspired: Images of Mystics and Mendicants, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/16/1999 - 03/29/1999
  • A Decade of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 06/08/2000 - 09/03/2000
  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu