Page 19 - ISLAM Rock n Roll

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Mughal India developed a tradition of decorating objects with gems. Jewelled arms such as the curved gold handle set with gold rubies of an enamelled dagger made in the17th or 18th century (shown below le ) were given to important members of the court or army and given as diplomatic gi s.
Mughal paintings o en depict rulers and courtiers in palatial or garden settings with a variety of glass decanters, cups,
glasses, bottles, and water pipes (huqqa) that were used to smoke a variety of products including tobacco which was introduced into India by the Portuguese in the late 16th century. Made in the rst part of the ca. 18th century, the colorless glass huqqa base shown below is decorated with gilded appliqué leaves, tendrils, and large owers with central insets of blue glass.
India’s Mughal dynasty traced its ancestry back to
the Turko-Mongol ruler Timur. The dynasty’s founder, Babur (r. 1494–1530) conquered Northern India by 1526. The Mughals established themselves as the India’s main power during the reign of Babur’s grandson Akbar (r. 1556–1605) when Mughal territory extended from Gujarat to Bengal. Akbar and his successors Jahangir (r. 1605–1627), Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658) ushered in a great Indo-Islamic cultural ourishing that continued until the reign of the last major Mughal ruler Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707).
The Mughals were great builders and lent their patronage to the arts. Their buildings and gardens in Delhi, Agra, and Lahore synthesized the aesthetic tradi- tions of Iran, Central Asia and India. The Mughals used trading networks of the Indian Ocean and Central Asia’s Silk Road to build their economy. Mughal raw materials and products travelled east and west and in uenced consumer tastes from Europe to Southeast Asia.
Like other early-modern empires, the Mughals used gunpowder in battle. Invented in China sometime in the 9th century, gunpowder technology spread throughout the Muslim world, particularly a er the Mongol invasions. The ca. 17th century nautilus shaped ask is made of wood and was used to carry gunpowder. It is exquisitely covered with a marbled pattern of blue and black lacquer, and bordered by delicate oral designs in gold.
mughal india