A Mughal Spinel retailed by Ganeshi Lall & Son
India, 17th Century
the spinel of ovoid form, later gold suspension loops to top and bottom issuing from rosette finials, in fitted box
2.8 x 2.2 cm. max; 62 ct
Footnotes:
Provenance
Ganeshi Lall & Son, Cairo, 1934, where it was mounted as an Art Deco style cockatoo brooch.

Uncut spinels, such as the present lot, were prized by the Mughals as well as their Timurid ancestors and Safavid cousins, for their impressive size, rich colour and abundant variety of beautiful, naturally occurring forms. The finest examples were often inscribed with the names of rulers as tangible symbols of wealth and power. A spinel inscribed with the names of Jahangir (reg. 1605-27), Shah Jahan (reg. 1628-58) and Awrangzeb (reg.1658-1707) was presented to Edward VII in 1901 by Raja Sir Hira Singh of Nabha and remains in the Royal Collection (RCIN 11526). Another inscribed example, known as the Carew spinel, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (IM.243-1922). A magnificent spinel, diamond and pearl necklace now in the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, combines three spinel beads engraved with the names of Akbar (reg. 1556-1605), Jahangir and Shah Jahan, with eight uninscribed beads of the same size and approximate shape, demonstrating how spinels without inscriptions were also highly valued for their place in spectacular jewellery settings (see Leng Tan et al., Jewelled Treasures from the Mughal Courts, 2002, pp. 26-31, cat. no. 6). Though our spinel is not inscribed by a Timurid ruler or a Mughal emperor, it has its own fascinating and rather more recent story to tell, having once been mounted as a brooch in the 1930s by world renowned jewellers Ganeshi Lall & Son.

Ganeshi Lall & Son was established in 1845 and had emporiums in Agra, Calcutta and the fashionable hill resort of Shimla, where the upper echelons of British society went to escape the heat of the plains. The Cairo shop was opened in 1934 in a highly prized position opposite Egypt's leading and most celebrated Shepheard's Hotel, whose illustrious guests included the Aga Khan, the Maharajah of Jodpur, Winston Churchill and Hollywood royalty such as Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.