Nose Ring thumbnail 1
Nose Ring thumbnail 2
+3
images
Not on display

Nose Ring

20th century (made)
Place of origin

A large gold nose ring known locally as a mor-morni referring to the decorative peacock motifs, three of which are included on this ring. It has a gold wire loop with a hook at the right hand end to pass through the eye terminating the other end of the ring. The lower half of the ring is ornamented with three peacock motifs, a crescent shape and a tear-drop shaped element with gold faceted beads, granulated discs and wired circles of pearls at either end beneath a length of twisted gold wire coiled round the gold loop. The individual elements have clusters of seed pearls terminating with small green beadshanging from twisted gold wire. At the right hand side, close to the terminal eye, there is a pendant jhumka with a granulated dome supporting a green gemstone bead over a red one fringed with pendant seed pearls.
The central peacock motif is shown in full frontal pose with its head and neck delicately arching forwards enamelled in dark blue. Both the eyes and the crest are picked out in enamel colours. The other two birds are set with white sapphires and encircled with seed pearls threaded through holes in the tips of the kundan gold settings. the upper peacock has lost its central component which has been repaired with a blob of base metal. The backs of the two ancillary peacocks are crudely enamelled in red, green, white and blue. Although they are slotted onto the gold loop they are additionally kept in place with very fine twists of gold wire The tear-drop motif on the other side of the loop has a red glass inset with a turquoise inset on the reverse side.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
gold with white sapphires, pearls, glass and enamel
Brief description
Nose ring in gold with pearls, crystal, glass and enamel decoration from Rajasthan
Physical description
A large gold nose ring known locally as a mor-morni referring to the decorative peacock motifs, three of which are included on this ring. It has a gold wire loop with a hook at the right hand end to pass through the eye terminating the other end of the ring. The lower half of the ring is ornamented with three peacock motifs, a crescent shape and a tear-drop shaped element with gold faceted beads, granulated discs and wired circles of pearls at either end beneath a length of twisted gold wire coiled round the gold loop. The individual elements have clusters of seed pearls terminating with small green beadshanging from twisted gold wire. At the right hand side, close to the terminal eye, there is a pendant jhumka with a granulated dome supporting a green gemstone bead over a red one fringed with pendant seed pearls.
The central peacock motif is shown in full frontal pose with its head and neck delicately arching forwards enamelled in dark blue. Both the eyes and the crest are picked out in enamel colours. The other two birds are set with white sapphires and encircled with seed pearls threaded through holes in the tips of the kundan gold settings. the upper peacock has lost its central component which has been repaired with a blob of base metal. The backs of the two ancillary peacocks are crudely enamelled in red, green, white and blue. Although they are slotted onto the gold loop they are additionally kept in place with very fine twists of gold wire The tear-drop motif on the other side of the loop has a red glass inset with a turquoise inset on the reverse side.
Dimensions
  • Weight: 36.2g
  • Height: 9.5cm
  • Width: 7cm
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 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. It was urchased by Dr Ganguly in December 2010 from Amrapali, Jaipur.
Historical context
Dr Ganguly points out that 'elaborate and heavy creations like this one would have been reserved to be worn on special festival dasys only'.
Bibliographic references
  • Ganguly, W., Nose Rings of India, Delhi, 2015 p.79, illus
  • Indian folk jewellery : designs and techniques / Waltraud Ganguly. Number: 9789350502129, 9350502127 p.48, illus
Collection
Accession number
IS.261-2019

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 createdMay 19, 2015
Record URL
Download as: JSON