Nose Ring
20th century (made)
| Place of origin |
A large gold nose ring with gold and glass ornamental elements. The hollow loop, which is designed to pass through the left nostril, is tapered and faceted. The opening at the narrow end slots into a coil of gold wire the end of which forms the lower arc of the ring. Onto this are treaded a number of gold beads and discs, a small glass blue bead and a centrally-positioned, dark red glass element which hangs downwards in an inverted tear-drop shape. Further coiled gold wire and three granulated and perforated discs are mounted over the thick end of the hollow loop. A round disc with a radiating granunlated fringe is brightly enamelled in a champlevé star-shaped design in bright blue, green and red. It is attached to the narrow end of the loop by means of a small gold loop attached to the back of the disc.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gold, hammered and granulated with wirework, glass and enamelling |
| Brief description | Nose ring, locally known as a sheesha nath, made of gold with glass and enamelled elements. |
| Physical description | A large gold nose ring with gold and glass ornamental elements. The hollow loop, which is designed to pass through the left nostril, is tapered and faceted. The opening at the narrow end slots into a coil of gold wire the end of which forms the lower arc of the ring. Onto this are treaded a number of gold beads and discs, a small glass blue bead and a centrally-positioned, dark red glass element which hangs downwards in an inverted tear-drop shape. Further coiled gold wire and three granulated and perforated discs are mounted over the thick end of the hollow loop. A round disc with a radiating granunlated fringe is brightly enamelled in a champlevé star-shaped design in bright blue, green and red. It is attached to the narrow end of the loop by means of a small gold loop attached to the back of the disc. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Dr W. Ganguly |
| Object history | Dr. Ganguly purchased this nose ring in Augsburg from Hans Weihreter at Khyun, 2004. This nose ring is 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. |
| Historical context | Nose rings of this type with the use of brightly coloured glass are predominantly worn by Muslim desert dwellers in Gujarat, the Barmer region of Rajasthan and over the border in Sindh in Pakistan |
| Bibliographic reference | Ganguly, W., Nose Rings of India , Delhi, 2015
pp. 84-85 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.262-2019 |
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| Record created | May 19, 2015 |
| Record URL |
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