Basin with Stylized Lotus Blossoms

Title: Basin with Stylized Lotus Blossoms

Date: 17th century

Geography: Attributed to India

Medium: Marble

Dimensions: H. 16 5/8 in. (42.2 cm)
W. 23 1/2 in. (51 cm)
Wt. 239 lbs. (108.4 kg)
Base: 15x15-3/4 in. (38.1 x 40 cm)

Classification: Stone

Credit Line: Purchase, Louis E. and Teresa S. Seley Purchase Fund for Islamic Art and Elizabeth S. Ettinghausen Gift, in memory of Richard Ettinghausen, 1984

Object Number: 1984.213

Basin

Lyrical patterns of stylized lotus blossoms flanked by leaf forms comprise the upper and lower bands of this nearly square marble basin. The profile of the basin itself suggests the shape of an opening lotus bud. Perhaps used within the precincts of the royal court or at the home of a member of the Mughal nobility, this sensuously modelled basin is reminiscent of the floral carved reliefs and architectural elements of monuments commissioned by the emperor Jahangir (d. 1627) and his son, Shah Jahan (d. 1658). It was during Shah Jahan's reign that the technique of carving white marble, mined from the Makrana region of Rajasthan, achieved its fullest artistic expression, reflected in the most famous of his architectural undertakings, the Taj Mahal.

Rochelle Kessler in [Walker et al. 1994]

[ Spink & Son Ltd., London, until 1984; sold to MMA]

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 97.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahli, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 97, pp. 238–39, ill. (b/w).