Dish; Gujarat, India, 16th century.
Mother-of-pearl and bronze.
Measurements: 3 x 23 cm.
Dish made of mother-of-pearl with bronze finials that can be seen in the lower part of the piece. From the trade routes of the Indies they arrived in Europe, with this one having the peculiarity of being made entirely of mother-of-pearl, as the majority of examples come from China and are made of porcelain. In India, this type of mother-of-pearl work was traditionally associated with rituals, being especially used for holy water.
Through the trade routes that linked Europe, America and the Indies, various oriental products, most of which were considered luxury items, reached the Iberian Peninsula. Royal families, nobility and people of high social standing all desired exotic objects for their collections, and ivory carvings were among the most prized, both for the value and exoticism of the material itself and for the quality of the workmanship. These carvings also had a dual function. Firstly, they were precious and decorative objects, but they also had a didactic and evangelistic purpose, as carvings were made with Christian themes and iconography, using decorative motifs, elements and techniques typical of the Far East. Generally speaking, the missionaries commissioned local artists to make them, showing them European models to imitate. These types of pieces, intended for Portuguese clients, were made especially in Goa (India).