Mughal Brass Basin, India

Inscribed & Engraved Mughal Brass Basin

This marvellously sculptural brass basin would have been used in conjunction with a water-dispensing ewer during the height of the Mughal era in northern India. Water would have been poured across one’s hands which then would have been allowed to trickle into the basin, which would later have been emptied by a servant. Such hand washing was usually a precursor to taking meals.

Such basins were called a

tasht in northern India and a sailabchi in the Deccan (Zebrowski, 1997, p. 169).

It has a superb sculptural quality with its ribbed base and catchment pan. The ribs have been engraved with scrolling leaf and flower patterning.

The hinged cover over the well of the basin is a later replacement. More typically, these are missing altogether. The cover itself has clear age. The cover lifs to reveal an engraved inscription, probably in Indic-Persian.

The basin has a superb, buttery patina from centuries of handling and use. There is a small hole in one corner of the catchment pan but this is not particularly visible and consistent with the item’s age and use.