Bowl, colorless glass, decorated with polychrome enamel and gilded

India under the Mughals was in the same position as the two other Islamic realms of the day – Safavid Iran and the extensive Ottoman Empire – when it came to glassmaking. Initially none had local glass manufacture, and all imported glass from Europe that was partly adapted to various export markets.

Indian glass manufacture has been documented from the end of the 16th century, but most Indian glass that has been preserved was made starting from the late 17th century. Today it is very difficult to determine precisely where a glass object was produced on the Indian subcontinent.