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Turban ornament

Turban ornament

  • Place of origin:

    India (possibly, made)
    Pakistan (possibly, made)

  • Date:

    1700-1750 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    White nephrite jade, and gold inset with rubies, emeralds, probably topaz, with gold foil, rock crystal and pearl

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Col. Charles Seton Guthrie

  • Museum number:

    02569(IS)

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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This turban jewel is a superb example of precious stone setting in jade. In the upper section, emeralds, rubies and crystals are cut to fit each leaf with as many as seven small, shaped rubies on one leaf, though most have only one or two. The veins of the leaves have been carved onto the shaped gemstones before setting. At the back, relief decoration on the surface of the jade also suggests flowers and leaves. A ring behind the large rosette would have held a feather plume, while the stem would have been used to fit the ornament into a turban. Wearing plumes in a turban indicated royal status in Mughal India.

Physical description

Turban ornament:
The jewel is made in two sections, the upper part fashioned from a single block of white nephrite jade and worked at the back to include a holder for a feather plume. The setting of gemstones is masterly. The wearing of a plume in the turban indicated royal status.

Place of Origin

India (possibly, made)
Pakistan (possibly, made)

Date

1700-1750 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

White nephrite jade, and gold inset with rubies, emeralds, probably topaz, with gold foil, rock crystal and pearl

Dimensions

Height: 19.7 cm, Width: 4.6 cm at widest point

Object history note

From the collection of Col. Charles Seton Guthrie. Transferred in 1879 from the India Museum to the South Kensington Museum, which later became the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Descriptive line

Turban ornament, India or Pakistan, Mughal, first half of the eighteenth century

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

PIACENTI, Kirsten Aschengreen, Susan Stronge, Cristina Del Mare, Rita Sharma et al., Gioielli dall’India dai Moghul al Novecento, La Rinascente, Milan, 1996, catalogue number 143, p.176 VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, London, 1982, catalogue number 309, p.308 and figure 11b, p.150 HENDLEY, Thomas Holbein, The Journal of Indian Art and Industry, Vol. XII, 1906-9, Part I pl.4 no. 15 HALL, M. 'Indisches Kunsthandwerk', Indien und Südostasien, Berlin, 1971, pl.204b BLACK, J.A., A History of Jewels, London, 1974, illustrated on p.205 For information on turban ornaments, see: UNTRACHT, Oppi, Traditional Jewelry of India, Thames and Hudson, London, 1997, pp.380-388 Barnard, Nick. ‘Indian Jewellery : The V&A Collection’. London : V&A Publishing, 2008. ISBN 9781851774838, p.86, pl.4.6.
Susan Stronge, "Colonel Guthrie's Collection. Jades of the Mughal Era", Oriental Art, Winter 1993/1994, vol. XXXIX, no. 4, fig. 11
Susan Stronge, "Colonel Guthrie's Collection", Oriental Art, Winter 1993/94, vol. xxxix no 4, pp. 10, fig. 11.
Takashi Koezuka,ed; Rosemary Crill, Takashi Koezuka, Susan Stronge catalogue; intro Deborah Swallow & Takashi Koezuko; The Arts of the Indian courts: miniature paintings and decorative arts. Osaka; NHK Media Plan, 1993. Cat no.17

Exhibition History

Art at the Rockface: The Fascination of Stone (Castle Museum, Norwich 03/09/2006-22/05/2009)

Production Note

The Mughal empire straddled territory including both the modern states of India and Pakistan, which were created as separate entities in 1947. The object could have been made anywhere in the empire.

Categories

Jewellery

Collection code

SSEA

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Qr_O64129
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