Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
South Asia Gallery, Room 41

Necklace

ca. 1865 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Tiger claws were regarded as charms against evil in India and were originally used as amulets. In her 1850 autobiography, Mrs Fanny Parkes, an English woman who lived in India between 1822 and 1846, describes observing and copying this custom. Tiger-claw jewellery was also made for the British, perhaps as an exotic souvenir of their lives in India. This necklace would have been made in India for the European market rather than for traditional use, and was bought from the Paris International Exhibition in 1867.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Tiger claws and gold
Brief description
Tiger claw necklace, India, about 1865
Physical description
Ten tiger claws, graded in size, set in engraved gold and linked by chains, suspended from a 'snake' chain
Dimensions
  • Length: 43.5cm
Object history
Bought from the Paris Exhibition, 1867, where it was described as 'modern work'.
Summary
Tiger claws were regarded as charms against evil in India and were originally used as amulets. In her 1850 autobiography, Mrs Fanny Parkes, an English woman who lived in India between 1822 and 1846, describes observing and copying this custom. Tiger-claw jewellery was also made for the British, perhaps as an exotic souvenir of their lives in India. This necklace would have been made in India for the European market rather than for traditional use, and was bought from the Paris International Exhibition in 1867.
Bibliographic reference
Susan Stronge, Nima Smith, and J.C. Harle. A Golden Treasury : Jewellery from the Indian Subcontinent London : Victoria and Albert Museum in association with Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, 1988. ISBN: 0944142168 p.84 STRONGE, Susan, Nima Smith and James Harle, A Golden Treasury. Jewellery from the Indian subcontinent, London, 1988, catalogue number 76, p.84 For information on Victorian tiger-claw jewellery, see also: UNTRACHT, Oppi, Traditional Jewelry of India, Thames and Hudson, London, 1997, pp.95
Collection
Accession number
594-1868

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Record createdFebruary 26, 2004
Record URL
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