Nose Ornament thumbnail 1
Nose Ornament thumbnail 2
Not on display

Nose Ornament

20th century (made)
Place of origin

Silver bulak of an eared horseshoe-shaped upper part filled with a triangular motif with an inverted triangle below. The piece has a silver back plate onto which are applied lengths of twisted silver wire and die-stamped rows of beads. The back has two silver rings through which a long hair-pin-shaped loop passes with one splayed end to act as a stop and the other slightly hooked to pass through the wearer's septum.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver wirework and die-stamping
Brief description
Nose ornament, bulak, from Uttarakhand
Physical description
Silver bulak of an eared horseshoe-shaped upper part filled with a triangular motif with an inverted triangle below. The piece has a silver back plate onto which are applied lengths of twisted silver wire and die-stamped rows of beads. The back has two silver rings through which a long hair-pin-shaped loop passes with one splayed end to act as a stop and the other slightly hooked to pass through the wearer's septum.
Dimensions
  • Weight: 7.5g
  • Height: 6.7cm (Note: without the loop)
  • Width: 3cm
  • Height: 9cm (Note: measured with loop fully extended)
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.
Historical context
This shape of bulak is noted by Dr Ganguly as being a common one in the Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand. Traditionally it might be worn with a large-diameter nath in the left nostril. Dr Ganguly shows a photograph of a a woman from Jaunsar wearing a similar bulak tgether with a simple nose stud in her left nostril, (Ganguly,2015).
Bibliographic reference
Ganguly, W., Nose Rings of India, Delhi, 2015 p.65-66, illus
Collection
Accession number
IS.355-2019

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Record createdJune 23, 2015
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