RAPAPORT... Although the period of the Mughal rulers lasted from the early sixteenth to the midnineteenth centuries, the influence and appeal of the jewelry created during those years has continued to this day. “I think it’s the properties of a very romantic country, a fascinating period in Indian history and amazing, magnificent stones. There’s a sense of grandeur and opulence and a sense of a bygone age. There’s so much that’s drawn into it that is so appealing,” says Simon Teakle of Betteridge Jewelers.
PATRONS OF ARTStarting in 1526 with the reign of Babur, who brought Muslim culture to India, through the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur, the Mughal period was highlighted by “new qualities of carving techniques, a new sense of design elements,” says Ralph Esmerian, owner of Fred Leighton, “that are very much a part of Islamic history. And it’s just a fascinating combination of the old Indian with the new Mughal Indian. And in the end, the great big jewelry that we associate with India in the West is really the Mughal Indian jewelry that their rulers, the maharajahs, would have commissioned and worn — the men as well as the women.”
“The Mughals were great patrons of the arts and crafts in India,” explains Pavan Gattani, associate of the designer Munnu Kasliwal of The Gem Palace, Jaipur, India. “For them, every piece of jewelry had to have some sort of significance. The pieces were designed with the feeling that not only the eye saw the jewelry but the body also felt the jewelry. The back of the jewelry was significantly enameled and had lacework or some kind of work that made the jewelry so attractive.”
Choosing and wearing gemstones had much to do with “planetary alignment.” Navratna designs combined nine specific gemstones, each associated with one of the nine planets. Wearing them, points out Gattani, “was part of bringing harmony and balance into one’s life.” The Mughal rulers believed in the astrological powers of gemstones, agrees Rahul Kadakia, jewelry department head for Christie’s Americas. While enamel is the first thing that comes to mind with these pieces, says Kadakia, “many, especially those with important stones, were set with open backs so that the gem touched the skin of the wearer, allowing him or her to benefit from the special qualities of the stone.”
DISTINCTIVE DESIGN“There was a degree of variance as to the type of jewelry that was made,” says Teakle. “Some of it has a lot more Oriental flavor; some had that kind of classical Indian style with the very flat diamonds and pearls and rubies and emeralds.”
The carving of the stones is a distinctive characteristic of Mughal gems, Kadakia says. “In particular, emeralds often were carved with large verses from the Koran. With spinels, also known as balas rubies, the stones were drilled through the center, allowing them to be suspended on necklaces or strung into armbands. These were then inscribed with the names of the emperors who owned them, along with the dates that they were in power.”
In the earlier part of the Mughal rule, explains Kadakia, “real gems, rubies, emeralds and sapphires were crushed forthe color of the enamel, which in itself was a highly decadent form of jewelry manufacture. A lot of the inspiration for the motifs used for setting the stones and also the enamel decoration came from the frescoes in the architecture of the period, as well from nature, poppy flowers and birds being a favored theme.”
What distinguishes these jewels, says Esmerian, was that they were carved by hand. “There are specific Mughal decorative motifs — the gardens, the flowers — that were applied and you recognize some of the hands involved in old Mughal Indian carvings of certain great emeralds,” he says. “You could get beautiful carvings on an emerald because it is a softer stone. It’s rare that you’d see the type of flower motif seen in emeralds engraved on the hardness of a sapphire or a ruby. You’d have much more of a linear-type of carving, but the bulk of your carved stones remain emeralds and semiprecious materials.”
MUGHAL TO DECO
“Art Deco design owes so much to Mughal India,” says Esmerian. “It’s really just a Westernization of great Mughal Indian jewelry.”
“There’s certainly no question,” Teakle confirms, “that the classic Mughal style of carved emeralds and pearls and cabochon stones and carved stones has influenced so many jewelers in the twentieth century.”
And while the great French firms were looking toward Mughal India for inspiration for their Art Deco designs, the great families of India were turning to Cartier and the other firms to rework their Mughal pieces in the European way. “In fact, some of the biggest customers that Cartier, Chaumet, Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston enjoyed were Indian royal families,”says Kadakia. This phenomenon is still going on today, with newer pieces updating Mughal jewelry designs with a contemporary, Western spin.
WHAT PRICE HISTORY?The appeal of Indian jewels in the Western world can be traced through the strong prices that older pieces with provenance command at auction. Often, it is the important gemstones that pique bidders’ interest; many of the Mughal pieces were restyled as they were passed from generation to generation. One such stone, points out Kadakia, “is the fancy light-pink cushion-shaped Agra diamond, which belonged to Babur, the first Mughal emperor. The stone passed through the entire Mughal Dynasty and much later was sold at Christie’s London in June 1990 for $6.95 million.”
While auctions are a great place to find Mughal jewelry, says Kadakia, it has become increasingly difficult to find special pieces. “One may still find examples at jewelers in India, but like with everything in life, it helps to know where you are buying from. As for prices, great Indian jewels, especially those with a provenance, command really big prices as collectors and museums try to acquire these pieces.”
Is it harder to find great examples? Yes, absolutely, says Teakle. “But just in the same way it’s hard to find a great piece of Cartier or Boucheron jewelry or a fabulous old diamond and a great Kashmir sapphire.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - October 2007. To subscribe click here.