Indian Palace Jeweled Pin

Description

Our elegant Indian Palace Jeweled Pin adapts details from a traditional hathphul. A hathphul is a beautiful piece of jewelry designed to adorn the back of a woman’s hand, consisting of a bracelet with one or more chains attached to finger rings. The Museum’s collection includes a jeweled hathphul (eighteenth– nineteenth century) attributed to northern India. Such pieces were often worn by women in Mughal and Rajput royal palaces.

24K gold overlay, made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, green onyx, and glass cabochons. 1 5/8'' diam.

Art History

The tradition of jewelry making on the Indian subcontinent is characterized by a vast and complex heritage spanning at least five thousand years. Created and worn as symbolic expressions of religious beliefs and as indicators of social and economic status, Indian jewelry embodies a rich cultural significance beyond the value of its precious materials.