Mughal Earrings

July 11, 2023

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Akbar III 1948-2012
IMG-12072023-116
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During the Mughal era, jewelry was an important part of the royal court, denoting status and position. Men were adorned as equally as women, with large jewels worn from head to toe. Jewelry created in the royal workshops were true works of art and of the finest craftsmanship. Several artisans — each with a specific area of expertise — worked on a single piece to create the finished jewel. Every visible surface — front, back and sides — of Mughal jewelry is covered in ornamentation. The Mughal style of jewelry combined enameling and Islamic motifs of flowers, paisley and birds with the Hindu style of goldwork and the generous use of precious stones.
“The Mughal era rulers wanted to keep the stones big so they were generally not cut, but tumbled cabochons or beads to keep the size,” says Ashok Sancheti, owner and president of Pioneer Gems, New York, and a collector of Mughal jewelry. “There were a lot of table-cut diamonds in the pieces because India had the Golconda mines. They were the only known diamond mines until diamonds were found in Brazil in the 1700s. Emeralds came to Spain from Colombia and then were sent to India. Rubies came from Burma, sapphires came from Sri Lanka and Basara pearls, which are natural salt water pearls, from the Indian Ocean.”
The enameling in Mughal jewelry is generally done in vibrant shades of red, blue and green with white. However, Sancheti explains that the elephant bangles (shown on the cover and opposite page), which he dates as circa late-eighteenth to early-nineteenth century, were from a specific area. “In the past, pink and white enameling was only done in Banaras in the Uttar Pradesh State. In Rajasthan, where Jaipur is located, they used red, blue and green enameling.” Banaras, also known as Varanasi, is the oldest and holiest city in India.
Mughal jewelry has found favor with jewelry aficionados outside of India as well. “Real, historical Mughal jewelry is intriguing,” comments Janet Levy, principal of J. &S.S. DeYoung, who notes that American heiress Doris Duke was an avid collector of Mughal jewelry. “It was owned by maharajahs and maharanis and the pieces had the best of what was available at the time. The jewelry has great table diamonds and emeralds and it is exotic and beautiful. Mughal jewelry has huge Golconda diamonds and there is an awareness that those diamonds were there before any others.”
Although the Mughal court jewelers are long gone, the tradition of Mughal-inspired jewelry making continues today, primarily in Jaipur. “It is the older generation today that is making the pieces because they care about the art. The older pieces were solid gold and very heavy; the newer pieces are hollow, but are sometimes filled with wax to add weight,” says Sancheti. While weight may be one way to determine if a piece is old or new, Sancheti notes that it is really experience that allows one to make the distinction. “Generally, if a piece is new, it is stated that it is new,” he says. “To find old Mughal jewelry is very hard. Some copies are made so nicely that even experts are fooled. More and more antique pieces are going to collectors who hold on to them as a family heirloom.”
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