Bangle
20th century (made)
| Place of origin |
A pair of white conch shell (sankha) bangles carved with notches in a chevron pattern.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Bone |
| Brief description | A pair of Bengali shell bangles (sankha) |
| Physical description | A pair of white conch shell (sankha) bangles carved with notches in a chevron pattern. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Dr W. Ganguly |
| Object history | This bracelet 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 | Dr Ganguly noted that these are marriage bangles from West Bengal and 'a must for every bride and married wife. They are usually worn together with gold bangles or bracelets’. The centre of the shell jewellery industry has for centuries been Dhaka in Bangladesh. Bangles are cut in slices from a conch shell worked with a large saw like a mandolin. These bangles are worn by Hindu women in Bangladesh and in West Bengal. They are put on the bride during a religious rite at her wedding and broken on the death of her husband, as widows are not allowed to wear them (Zulekha Haque 1984). |
| Bibliographic reference | Indian folk jewellery : designs and techniques / Waltraud Ganguly. Number: 9789350502129, 9350502127
Zulekha Haque, Gahana:Jewellery of Bangladesh, 1984, Bangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation, Dhaka, pp.73-75 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.458:1&2-2019 |
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 Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis.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
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 23, 2015 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
