Marriage necklace (kazhutthuru) thumbnail 1
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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Marriage necklace (kazhutthuru)

Necklace
late 19th century or early 20th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Pudukottai (made)

This superb ceremonial necklace incorporates a gold pendant or 'tali' symbolising marriage, and was probably made for a bride from the Nattukottai Chettiar community in South India. It would not have been used for everyday wear. It has an imposing pendant adorned with images of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati, seated on Nandi, the sacred bull, before a temple. The small figures are very skilfully worked in gold repoussé, an important technique in South Indian jewellery. The repoussé work is pierced in places to show the gleam of red foil backing. Above these figures is a contrasting flat panel of delicate tracery showing a deer between two birds of paradise.

Object details

Categories
Hinduism
Jewellery
Metalwork
Object type
Necklace
TitleMarriage necklace (kazhutthuru) (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Gold, black thread and red foil
Brief description
Marriage necklace, gold, Tamil Nadu, South India, late nineteenth century or early twentieth century
Physical description
A marriage necklace (kazhutthuru). Large gold beads and pendant on black thread, the gold worked in repoussé and pierced, with red foil (red vanish on copper sheet) on the pendant behind the pieced gold work on the central panel and a sheet of patinated copper behind the pieced figures of birds and antelope; the pendant filled with lac.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12.5cm
  • Width: 6.4cm
  • Width: 6.4cm
Gallery label
(1990)
Marriage necklace. Gold worked in repoussé and with pierced decoration. Nattukottai Chettiar community, Tamil Nadu. Probably late 19th or 20th century.
Production
Probably made for the Nattukottai Chettiar community, Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu
Subjects depicted
Shiva
Nandi
Parvati
Summary
This superb ceremonial necklace incorporates a gold pendant or 'tali' symbolising marriage, and was probably made for a bride from the Nattukottai Chettiar community in South India. It would not have been used for everyday wear. It has an imposing pendant adorned with images of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati, seated on Nandi, the sacred bull, before a temple. The small figures are very skilfully worked in gold repoussé, an important technique in South Indian jewellery. The repoussé work is pierced in places to show the gleam of red foil backing. Above these figures is a contrasting flat panel of delicate tracery showing a deer between two birds of paradise.
Bibliographic references
  • Susan Stronge, Nima Smith, and J.C. Harle. A Golden Treasury : Jewellery from the Indian Subcontinent London : Victoria and Albert Museum in association with Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, 1988. ISBN: 0944142168 pp. 76-77 PIACENTI, Kirsten Aschengreen, Susan Stronge, Cristina Del Mare, Rita Sharma et al., Gioielli dall’India dai Moghul al Novecento, La Rinascente, Milan, 1996, catalogue number 54, p.106 STRONGE, Susan, Nima Smith and James Harle, A Golden Treasury. Jewellery from the Indian subcontinent, London, 1988, catalogue number 69, p.76 For information on similar and related necklaces, see BOLON, Carol Radcliffe and Amita Vohra Sarin, 'Metaphors in Gold: the Jewelry of India', Asian Art [Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC], Fall 1993, pp.10-33 UNTRACHT, Oppi, Traditional Jewelry of India, Thames and Hudson, London, 1997, pp.96, 158-9, 169 BALA KRISHNAN, Usha R. and Meera Sushil Kumar, Dance of the Peacock. Jewellery Traditions of India, India Book House Limited, 1999, pp.92, 148 and 152, 224-6, 248 Barnard, Nick. ‘Indian Jewellery : The V&A Collection’. London : V&A Publishing, 2008. ISBN 9781851774838, page14, pl.1.5.
  • Indian Jewellery: The V&A Collection London: V&A Publishing, 2008 Number: ISBN 9781851774838 p. 15, pl. 1.5
  • Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, "The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993. p. 153, cat. no. 136
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IS.90-1987

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Record createdFebruary 27, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O94164/marriage-necklace-kazhutthuru-necklace-unknown/
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