A large plate of Jaipur enamel, said to be the largest ever made, was presented to the Prince of Wales. A unique and beautiful specimen of the same kind of enamel is the Kalamdan, or pen-and-ink stand in the shape of an Indian gondola (Fig. 109).
The stern is formed of a peacock’s head and body, the tail of which decorates in brilliant enamels the underneath part of the boat.
Fig. 109.—Enamelled Pen-and-Ink Stand; Jaipur. (B.)
The canopy of the ink receptacle has green, blue, coral, and ruby enamels laid on a gold foundation.
The vase, or Sarai (Fig. 110) in possession of Lady Wyatt is a fine example of Cashmere enamel, on which the shawl pattern may be seen.
Fig. 110.—Enamelled Sarai; Punjaub. (B.)
A kind of enamel is made at Pertabghar in Rajputana, which consists in covering a plate of burnished gold with a rich green enamel, and placing on the surface while it is hot thin plates of gold ornaments, which are fastened to the enamel by heat; afterwards these gold plates are engraved elaborately with incised lines, so as to bring out the design. Sometimes the enamel itself is engraved, and an easily fused gold amalgam is rubbed into the incised lines, and fused to form the decoration.
Persian enamels are applied mostly to the heads of “Kalians,” or tobacco water-pipes, jewellery, and coffee-cup holders. The foundations are gold or copper. A large tray enamelled on copper on both sides is in the Kensington Museum. It is decorated with flowers of various colours on a white ground, and has an Armenian inscription with the date A.D. 1776, and comes from Ispahan. In most Persian enamels the grounds are usually of a white or light tint, with brightly coloured flowers as decoration.