The body of this ewer takes the form of a goose (hamsa), another common motif in ancient Hindu and Buddhist iconography, where it is associated both with the waters of life, because of its aquatic nature, and with wisdom and purity, on account of its legendary ability to separate milk from water. The spout takes the form of a makara—a mythological aquatic creature that resembles a crocodile with an elephant’s trunk and a fish’s tail—another quintessentially South Asian motif and one of the most commonly used propitious emblems in Indian decorative art.


Other features of the ewer resonate more closely with Islamic artistic traditions, which came to South Asia with travelers and traders soon after the emergence of Islam itself in the seventh century CE. Thus, while vessels in the form of animals are quite rare in Indian metalwork before the Sultanate period (1206–1526), when Muslim-ruled kingdoms first controlled large areas of South Asia, zoomorphic ewers have a long history in Islamic metalwork going back to the eighth century CE. The hamsa ewer beautifully represents a confluence of motifs, mythologies, and objects that belong solely to neither Islamic nor Hindu cultural traditions. Indeed, it would have served equally well the needs of either a Muslim or a Hindu owner, facilitating the performance of ritual ablutions before religious observances within the home; or it may have been proffered by a servant at an elite banquet, enabling Muslim and Hindu guests alike to cleanse their hands before and after the meal.

---