Mother of Pearl craftsmen were working in Gujarat at least from the early 16th century. The Portuguese particularly favoured this type of work and employed Indian craftsmen to produce items for export both for their churches and homes. The earliest items of mother-of-pearl were imported to Europe in the 16th century, including a casket in the Dresden Green vault that entered the collection c. 1525-50. The Bargello Shield entered the Medici armoury in 1599. Items such as the ewer in Peabody Essex Museum, c. 1570-1600, reveal the European style of some objects. Most of the surviving objects are in European collections. Sir John Clerk of Penicuik near Edinburgh is documented as purchasing mother-of-pearl in Paris in the 1640s, the collection from which this piece comes. 

The major centres of production of mother-of pearl were Cambay, Surat and Ahmedabad, making the mother-of-pearl work an important regional craft in the Mughal Empire