Elegantly fashioned in the shape of a plump mango, this small container is made of rock crystal adorned with a bejeweled arabesque matrix with rubies and emeralds inlaid in gold. In order to create the inner void, the pre-shaped piece of rock crystal was sawn in half vertically, each side hollowed out with a rotating drill bit, a channel bored from the top, and the halves rejoined. The seam is cleverly disguised underneath the gold inlay. The LACMA mango is missing its stopper, but based on a comparable Mughal rock crystal mango now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1993.18), it was likely bud-shaped and made of enameled gold. The original function of the vessel is uncertain, but it was likely used as a perfume bottle. Alternatively, it may have been a lime container used in the preparation of betel nut quids. As no traces of lime apparently survive, however, the latter interpretation seems implausible.
The mango was a favored fruit to be emulated in vessel forms during the Mughal era (1526-1858). The Mughal artists frequently drew their inspiration in overall form and ornamentation from the natural world, either modeled upon a single plant or animal, or as a fantastical creation combining selected motifs. While mango vessels serving various functions were later fashioned in metal, especially hookah bases from Rajasthan, extant mango-shaped rock crystal containers created for the Mughal market are exceedingly rare.