Cup with calligraphic inscriptions

Holding Memory in a Cup

Small, beautiful, and rare—this tiny cup speaks volumes about the past. It offers a glimpse into how ideas about personal identity, family history, power, and prestige were conveyed through exquisite art objects.

Made of white jade (rarer than green jade), the cup features the written word as its main decoration. The elegant inscription around the body states it was made for ‘Ala ud-Daulah, a great-grandson of Amir Timur (Tamerlane), founder of the powerful Timurid dynasty. Little is known about ‘Ala ud-Daulah’s life, but his name lives on through this inscription. He probably ordered this cup during his brief two-year rule. It suggests that ‘Ala ud-Daulah, who came from a family renowned for its patronage of the arts, was a man of refined tastes who appreciated fine workmanship.

Nearly 175 years later, this cup made its way to India, probably as a gift to the Mughal emperor Jahangir (ruled 1605–1627), and a second inscription was added to its rim. The Mughals were descendants of the Timurids, and Jahangir was a connoisseur known for collecting artworks associated with his culturally sophisticated ancestors. Though barely visible with the naked eye, the inscription is a poetic couplet in Persian that includes Jahangir’s name, his father Emperor Akbar’s name, and a date. The inscription’s content and its refined calligraphy reflect the emperor’s pride in owning this cup. 

This cup was prized as a family heirloom and for its beauty and craftsmanship. Jade is an extremely difficult substance to “carve”: it must be ground down using a manual rotary tool with an abrasive wet paste. Inscribing the curving letters of the Persian script on the cup’s small, rounded surfaces required the talents of highly skilled artisans.

On the body, in Arabic: The sultan, son of the sultan, ‘Ala ud-Daulah Bahadur Khan, may [God] perpetuate his kingdom, ordered the completion of this container (durj).

On the rim, in Persian: This life-prolonging jade container belongs to Jahangir Shah, son of Akbar Shah. For as long as the angels’ durj [the celestial sphere] revolves, may the world remember Jahangir Shah AH 1030 [1620–21 CE]; 16 [sixteenth year of Jahangir’s reign].

Adaptation of translation by Wheeler Thackston