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Not currently on display at the V&A

Head Ornament

20th century (made)
Place of origin

Oranment worn by married women on the hairline on the central parting on the forehead. The differing shapes are specific to the different tribal and cast groups to which the women belong. The shapes of the ornaments are inspired by fruits and each has a ring at the top as a fastening for a textile cord.


Object details

Object type
Materials and techniques
silver, gold, glass and enamel
Brief description
Head ornament, borla, from Rajasthan
Physical description
Oranment worn by married women on the hairline on the central parting on the forehead. The differing shapes are specific to the different tribal and cast groups to which the women belong. The shapes of the ornaments are inspired by fruits and each has a ring at the top as a fastening for a textile cord.
Credit line
Given by Dr W. Ganguly
Object history
These ornaments are part of the large donation of Indian folk jewellery from Dr Waltraud Ganguly which was collected over the last few decades before her death in 2015 from dealers in both India and Europe, in parallel with extensive fieldwork she carried out in the Indian Sub-Continent. They were shown at the exhibition in the Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany, 18 October 2013 - 18 January 2014. They were purchased in October 2002 as a group from a local goldsmith, Kailashchand Chandraprakash, at his shop, Shrinathji, in Kota where he had moved some forty years before from Ajmer. He charged 10 Rupees per gram.
Historical context
A borla may be worn alone or together with two attached chain ornaments.
Bibliographic reference
Ganguly, Waltraud. Indian folk jewellery : designs and techniques Delhi, 2015 p.40
Collection
Accession number
IS.211-2019

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Record createdJuly 1, 2019
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