Bidri ware pandan (box for betel-leaf)
Silver and brass inlay in chemically darkened lead alloy
Bidar, Deccan, late 17th century
EA 1993.392

Brass pandan (box for betel-leaf)
Northern India, late 17th century
1993.393

Floral motifs like those of the Mughal carpet appear in much of the decorative art of North India and the Deccan in the Mughal period, as is seen in these two contemporary pandans (containers for pan, a confection of areca nut and spices wrapped in betel leaf, which remains a popular mild stimulant and digestif in India). The little bidri-ware box has a fine silver and brass inlay design of narcissi; the brass box has a comparable engraved patter of flowering plants with stylised ‘Chinese’ clouds.

Maharaja Bakhat Singh of Nagaur and Jodhpur, at a window
Gouache on paper
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, c. 1730-35
Lent by Sir Howard Hodgkin

In this splendid portrait, the Maharaja’s iris-patterned court robe and lower-sprigged turban create a vibrant interplay with the finely detailed floral interlace of the Mughal carpet draped over the balcony ledge and the painted flower designs in the spandrels above the arch.