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Title:
Volume 47 - Issue 1
Date:
1995
Table of contents:
- p. Front and Back [Advertisements]: [Photographs: Jewellery] Jewellery from "Jeypore Enamels" by S.S. Jacob and
- p. vi: Pal, Pratapaditya, Editorial | The resounding success of auctions of Indian art in Europe and America is commented on. Particularly satisfying is the fact that several Indians have participated in them. The open-door economic policy of the Indian government has been an encouraging factor.
- p. vii-viii [Also in - The Jewels of India; ISBN:81-85026-30-0, p. vii-viii; Ed. Susan Stronge]: Stronge, Susan, Introduction | Jewellery has always occupied an important place in the culture of the entire subcontinent, with an amazing range and quality of jewellery worn at all levels of society by men as well as women. While not much early jewellery has survived, information can be gleaned from sculpture, wall paintings, literary texts, and temple collections.
- p. 1-14 [Also in - The Jewels of India; ISBN:81-85026-30-0, p. 1-14; Ed. Susan Stronge]: Haque, Zulekha, Early Jewellery of Bengal: The Shunga Period | A survey of discovered terracotta remains of the Sunga period indicates how developed the art of jewellery in Bengal was, and that it incorporated ideas and designs from other regions as well. The portrayal of jewellery and repeated references to it in literature points to the fact that both men and women in Bengal shared a love for jewellery. Ornaments for the head, neck, ear, waist, arm, and leg are described. Unfortunately, only a few artifacts from those times survive in Bengal today.
- p. 15-36 [Also in - The Jewels of India; ISBN:81-85026-30-0, p. 15-36; Ed. Susan Stronge]: Schmidt, Carolyn Woodford, The Sacred and the Secular: Jewellery in Buddhist Sculpture in the Northern Kushan Realm | The jewellery adorning sculpted images of the Buddhist School, which flourished in Bactro-Gandhara during the first centuries of the Common era, is described. Especially interesting are the conventionalized sets worn by dodhisattvas, which mostly embellished turbans, and head-dresses (very important in Indic culture). Besides these, numerous smaller items have been recovered, such as earrings, bracelets, chain necklaces, and armbands. Among the finest pieces of the Kushana period is a gold amulet case.
- p. 37-52 [Also in - The Jewels of India; ISBN:81-85026-30-0, p. 37-52; Ed. Susan Stronge]: Nanda Gopal, Choodamani, Jewellery in the Temples of Karnataka | This is the first study to present a group of jewellery, some of it documented, from the collections of the temples of Karnataka -- Hampi, Melukote, Mysore. Preserved in religious centres by temple trustees, this jewellery is brought out for display and to decorate deities at the annual festival of a temple. Symbolic of power and dignity, crowns gracing the images of gods, goddesses, and their retinues, are among the most valuable items of the temple treasuries.
- p. 53-62 [Also in - The Jewels of India; ISBN:81-85026-30-0, p. 53-62; Ed. Susan Stronge]: Vassallo e Silva, Nuno, Jewels and Gems in Goa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century | Portugal's trade focussed on gemstones and jewels from the time Vasco da Gama's fleet reached India, with the new centre for this development being Goa. Generous customs facilities offered and the complete freedom of trade were two decisive factors influencing the busy process of pruchase and selling of precious stones. Accounts of travellers record that the Portuguese authorities took minimal profit from transcations. Some outstanding pieces of Indo-Portuguese jewellery are discussed.
- p. 63-80 [Also in - The Jewels of India; ISBN:81-85026-30-0, p. 63-80; Ed. Susan Stronge]: Hurpré, Jean-François, The Royal Jewels of Tirumala Nayaka of Madurai (1623-1659) | The royal jewellery as depicted in portrait sculptures of the Nayaka dynasty of Madurai is documented here. The jewellery of Tirumala Nayaka characterizes the new dynastic power, confirms his role as monarch, and suggests a clear intention to stand out from his predecessors. Numerous and luxurious, the jewels are made from the most noble materials to underline his wealth and supremacy. Ornaments adorning his wives, the queens of Madurai, are specific to their rank in the royal hierarchy.
- p. 81-82: Porter, Yves, A Curious Book of Recipes | The article describes a Mughal-period book offering a collection of recipes, called the "Majmu'at alsanaye". Unpublished to this day, the text is written in Indianized Persian and details the history and development of Indian late medieval technology and craftsmanship in the making of semi-precious stones and pearls, colouring ivory, and working in silver, crystal, and enamel.
- p. 83-85: Linrothe, Rob, The Champa of Sumda Chenmo | "Champa" is the Tibetan name of Maitreya, the Future Buddha. In Sumda Chenmo village in Ladakh stands a group of stone and wooden sculptures made by local and Zangskari artists emulating Kashmiri art in the period before central Tibetan models dominated western Tibet. The Sumda Champa is the most strikingly dramatic figure of this group.