jewelry Boxes For Women: Stupendous Indian Royal Designs

If you could go back in time, one of the things that would be worth seeing is the jewelry boxes for women of the Indian royal families. India’s history with jewel making is one of the oldest and dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization. Gold earrings, necklaces as well as bracelets were already made at this time.

In the jewel making history of the nation, the Mughal Empire was considered the most important. Believed to possess divine powers, the Maharaja was central to the functioning of the state. And that was why it was believed that only he was worthy of wearing a lot of jewelry.

The most popular of jewelry forms worn by the Maharaja was the Navratna (meaning nine gems). Nine precious stones are used in the making of an amulet. These nine gems are diamond, pearl, ruby, sapphire, emerald, topaz, cat’s eye, coral, and red zircon.

Of all these, the diamond is believed to be the most powerful and has been cut in many ways. Mughal Emperors gave a great deal of importance to diamonds. They believed it to be a road to immortality and even had their names and titles and carved.

These stones were used in the creation of rings, necklaces, amulets as well as to adorn turbans. The kings’ rings were inspired by European styles especially from the Renaissance period. Thumb rings with a common pattern of scrolling leaves on the inside were common.

Turban jewelry also made its debut at this time. The jewelry that belonged to Emperor Akbar were a mix of Iranian and European cultures. Kalghi or turban plumes made of gold threads and seen in Safavid paintings were created at that time.

Necklaces that the king wore were made of pearls, sometimes mixed with gold and other times with gold and even gemstones. When Jahangir came to power, using a heavy stone of pearl or ruby along with the plume came into fashion. The emperors of those times even had gold slippers to wear.

Medieval accounts tell of kings from Tanjore who wore minimal clothing that was completely covered with jewels. The loin cloth worn by the King of Maabar had emeralds, rubies as well as sapphires. He even had a necklace created out of 104 pearls and which came all the way to his waist.

Many styles have come about thanks to the attention given to jewelry among Indian royalty. The Mughals brought about the Meenakari and Kundan styles. Royalty from the Nagas had jewelry designs that included human heads and funnel-like beads.

In the trousseau of women, jewelry played a huge role. These women came to their husband’s palace with their jewelry stocked in massive jewelry cases made of lacquer, marble, onyx and more. Hand carvings, precious stones etc were used to enhance these jewelry boxes even further.

Jewelry is still central to Indian cultures. It is integral to every auspicious organization.

This article was written by Ruth D’Souza Prabhu of MarqART Gift shop. Our jewelry boxes are original works of art, no two creations are the same. Each wood shown has its own unique wood grain pattern and color. MarqART comes from combining the words marquetry (wood inlay) + Art (a creation of beauty) an apt name for our products. A fine addition to your dressing table or as a gift. Please visit http://www.marqartgiftshop.com to browse & buy exotic jewelry boxes that will give you a lifetime of pleasure!
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