Nose Ring, Bulak thumbnail 1
Nose Ring, Bulak thumbnail 2
+1
images
Not currently on display at the V&A

Nose Ring, Bulak

20th century (made)
Place of origin

A crescent-shaped nose ring, bulak, for the septum with dangling side pendants and a longer and larger enamelled crescent-shaped element fringed with further pendant leaflets. The nose ring has a back plate onto which is set a row of foiled colourless glass stones outlined in twisted and beaded gold wire and fringed along the lower edge with openwork granulation. Two small identical pendants are fixed with wire links through soldered rings on the back plate. they are decorated with crimson red glass and pairs of slightly concave leaflets strung onto coils of gold wire ,each embellished with a white glass bead. The heavy central decorative pendant is attached with thicker rigid coils of gold wire, flattened in the centre onto which is soldered a die-stamped quatrefoil setting for green and reddish-brown glass stones. These two colours are repeated in the larger quatrefoil below with is set above the cloisonne-enamelled crescent in red and black overlaid with discs of gold in dots, quatrefoils and a central rosette. The edge is decorated with small discs and granulation with holes in the back plate through which are threaded coils of thin gold wire, white beads and more pendant copper-plated leaflets.

The ring is fastened through the wearer's septum by means of a loop of gold wire which is twisted through a ring in the centre of the back plate and runs through another ring on the right hand side of the back plate into a 'U' shape, the other end of which slots into another ring on the left hand side at the top of the back plate.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gold, enamel and glass. Wirework, die-stamping and granulation.
Brief description
Bulak from Himachal Pradesh
Physical description
A crescent-shaped nose ring, bulak, for the septum with dangling side pendants and a longer and larger enamelled crescent-shaped element fringed with further pendant leaflets. The nose ring has a back plate onto which is set a row of foiled colourless glass stones outlined in twisted and beaded gold wire and fringed along the lower edge with openwork granulation. Two small identical pendants are fixed with wire links through soldered rings on the back plate. they are decorated with crimson red glass and pairs of slightly concave leaflets strung onto coils of gold wire ,each embellished with a white glass bead. The heavy central decorative pendant is attached with thicker rigid coils of gold wire, flattened in the centre onto which is soldered a die-stamped quatrefoil setting for green and reddish-brown glass stones. These two colours are repeated in the larger quatrefoil below with is set above the cloisonne-enamelled crescent in red and black overlaid with discs of gold in dots, quatrefoils and a central rosette. The edge is decorated with small discs and granulation with holes in the back plate through which are threaded coils of thin gold wire, white beads and more pendant copper-plated leaflets.

The ring is fastened through the wearer's septum by means of a loop of gold wire which is twisted through a ring in the centre of the back plate and runs through another ring on the right hand side of the back plate into a 'U' shape, the other end of which slots into another ring on the left hand side at the top of the back plate.
Dimensions
  • Weight: 12.1g
  • Length: 8cm
Credit line
Given by Dr W. Ganguly
Object history
This nose ring is part of the large donation of Indian folk jewellery from Dr Waltraud Gangully 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. It was purchased from the dealer, Michael Beste on 17th September 2005 for 820 Euros.
Bibliographic reference
Ganguly, W., Nose Rings of India, Delhi, 2015 p.68, illus.
Collection
Accession number
IS.107-2019

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdApril 29, 2015
Record URL
Download as: JSON