The bowl is of grey agate with brownish markings and a plain silver-gilt foot with twisted wire rim, 7cm high.
It was probably from Cambay on the west coast of India which was then a flourishing trading port and, as it still is today, the centre of the Indian hardstone industry.
The silver-gilt mount is most probably European.
The bowl is thought to have been part of an enormous bequest from Elizabeth, Countess of Devonshire (1619-1689), to her daughter Anne, Countess of Exeter (1649-1703).
The bequest was recorded in an inventory known as the 1690 Devonshire Schedule, or Deed of Gift and although this bowl is not specifically mentioned in the inventory, it forms part of a group of similar items which are listed.
