The Historical and Cultural Connotations of Some Inscribed Mughal Jewels and Jades

Qinggaozong, active during the 18^th century, is one of the most productive and creative patron of court art of the Qing Dynasty. During his reign, jade was continuously transported from the northwestern territory of China, including jade artifact called in the Qing Palace archive the "Hindustani jade". In the early 16^th century, the descendants of Timur invaded North India and established a new regime historically known as the Mughal empire. A part of the Hindustani jade is the jade pieces from the Mughal empire. In lieu of putting those jades back in the cultural and historical context of their place of origin, and considering the styling and the act of imperial collecting influenced by that context, numerous researches are undertook from the perspective of the Qing court. This article will thus focus on the tradition of gem processing and jade carving as well as the connotation behind the objects in India and Centra Asia, thus the forerunner of the Hindustani jade. The local gem processing was, apart from the jade carving, quite prosperous in India, not only gemstone being inlayed in the jade artifact, certain architectural decoration technique was sometimes applied on the objects as well. The Mughals profited from the exceptionally rich mineral sources of India, accompanied with those precious stones acquired by international trade, created resplendent hardstone carving tradition which comprise every aspect of courtly life. In addition to contemporary creations, relics of ancestors were also collected by Mughal emperors. Those gems and jades engraved with inscription of forefathers have multiple facets, with excellent quality and workmanship, they also reflected contemporary diplomatic, military and domestic political situation.