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Desjardins, Tara (2018) Mughal glass: Indian glass from the late modern and early colonial period. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30324 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. School of Oriental & African Studies Faculty of Arts & Humanities DEPARTMENT OF THE HISTORY OF THE ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY MUGHAL GLASS: Indian Glass from the Late Modern and Early Colonial Period TARA DESJARDINS PhD Candidate Student Number: 268068 2018 ABSTRACT This thesis will concentrate on a number of splendidly decorated blown objects, seeking to establish where they were made, and what they reveal about glass blowing in India during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The specific objects included within this thesis were selectively organised into three primary chapters based on object type. These were case bottles, huqqa bases, and dining ware objects. Within each chapter smaller groupings of objects were formed based on similarities of shape, colour of glass, or decorative technique. These groupings represented case studies, which were each subsequently discussed within three separate categories: form and function, the chemical analysis of the glass, and surface decoration. This methodological structure was devised in order to better answer where these objects were made, and furthermore, what defines Indian glass as Indian. By examining the origins of the shapes, the chemical analysis of the glass, and the decorative techniques and patterns, this thesis attempts to present a more authoritative discussion and clearer understanding of eighteenth and nineteenth century Indian glass. The thesis is organised into five chapters: literature review; the chemical analysis and trade of glass; case bottles; huqqa bases; and dining ware objects. The literature review examines how Indian glass from the Mughal period has been discussed, the gaps in the literature, and the challenges facing the field. The chemical analysis and trade of glass examines the characterisation of the glass as interpreted through both EDS and XRF testing of selected objects, followed by a discussion and interpretation of where these types of glass were manufactured, comparative analyses of other glassware, records of European traded glass into India, and an examination of the Indian glass industry during the nineteenth and twentieth century. The three case studies examine selected objects through the tripartite methodological approach, comparing them to other media or decorative techniques when relevant. 1 Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ 4 Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 6 Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 6 Structure ............................................................................................................................ 6 Methodological Approach: Form, Function & Chemical Analysis of Glass .............................. 7 Surface Decoration & Pattern Books ................................................................................... 8 Corpus of Material Examined ............................................................................................ 14 Note on Transliterations ................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 15 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 15 Sixteenth Century Mughal Accounts .................................................................................. 17 Seventeenth Century European Accounts .......................................................................... 18 Eighteenth Century Records .............................................................................................. 19 Nineteenth & Twentieth Century Accounts ....................................................................... 20 Late Twentieth Century to Present .................................................................................... 23 Concluding Remarks ......................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 3: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS & TRADE OF GLASS .................................................. 32 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 32 Methods of Testing ........................................................................................................... 32 Results ............................................................................................................................. 35 Discussion and Interpretations .......................................................................................... 50 Concluding remarks .......................................................................................................... 58 Trade in English Flint Glass ................................................................................................ 59 Comparative look at Shish Mahals, Mirror and Window Glass ............................................ 64 Nineteenth & Twentieth Century Records of Glass Manufacture in South Asia ................... 76 Colonial Comments and Comparative Industries ................................................................ 90 Patna and Lucknow: Places of Production and Circulation of Glass ..................................... 96 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 113 CASE BOTTLES: COBALT BLUE & TRANSPARENT ....................................................... 115 Origins of Form ............................................................................................................... 115 Representations in Indian paintings ................................................................................ 116 Bottles in Context: Perfumes of Pleasure & Power ........................................................... 120 CASE STUDY 1: Cobalt Blue Case Bottles .................................................................. 125 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 125 Comparative analysis of Shape, Glass, Technique, and Manufacture ................................ 125 Surface Decoration ......................................................................................................... 132 The Dutch ‘Six Struivers’ Coin .......................................................................................... 142 Concluding Interpretations ............................................................................................. 144 CASE STUDY 2: Transparent Case Bottles ................................................................. 146 Comparative analysis of Shape, Glass, Technique, and Manufacture ................................ 146 Surface Decoration ......................................................................................................... 152 Challenging a Past Attribution ......................................................................................... 170 Concluding Interpretations ............................................................................................. 176 HUQQA BASES: GLOBULAR & BELL-SHAPED ............................................................. 178 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 178 History of Tobacco in India .............................................................................................. 178 Smoking Devices: Evolution of Form ................................................................................ 180 2 CASE STUDY 3: Globular Green Glass Huqqa Bases ................................................... 194 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 194 Representations in Indian paintings ................................................................................ 195 Comparative analysis of Shape, Glass, Technique, and Manufacture ................................ 199 Surface Decoration ......................................................................................................... 207 Concluding Interpretations ............................................................................................

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