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 Jewellery is one art to which no place in India can lay exclusive claim. In almost every corner of the country can be found smiths highly skilled in fashioning the most exquisite ornaments by a variety of techniques like engraving, punching, shaping, enamelling and inlay. Indeed, it seems to have been so from the earliest times. Ancient excavations, wherever made, have thrown up any number of jewellery finds of great craftsmanship. Jewels have always been more than just articles of beautification in India. They are believed to possess qualities that bring good fortune or shield the wearer from evil spirits. The belief is particularly strong with regard to diamonds and other precious stones.
 The earliest excavations in chalcolithic sites (3500 b c-2000 b c) show adorned terracotta figures, copper rings, beads, bangles and hairpins. The cultural scene opened up by the Harappan and Mohenjodaro studies also revealed the strong role of jewellery in the people's lives. Those skills and the artistry reflected in the sculptures in Orissa and at
Bharut, Sanchi and Amarnath have influenced later Indian jewellery both in design and craftsmanship.
Gold and silver jewellery became highly elaborate and embellished with precious stones and enamelling under the
Mughals, whose influence is seen also in the Kundan work of Gujarat and
Rajasthan. Certain types of work are concentrated by tradition in certain areas. For example,
meenakari, enamel work on gold, has brought fame to Delhi and Jaipur. Fine gold leaf work depicting scenes like
'rasalila' can be seen in the Theva work of Rajasthan. Filigree is the speciality of
Orissa, where they have a range of products like bowls, rosewater sprinklers and even elaborate peacocks.
The South has its own
specialities, favoured themes in the jewellery there being the sun, the moon, serpents and images of gods. Ladakh region has a fascinating ornament in the
Perak. The preferred materials for the region's jewels are coral, turquoise, pearls and amber. Folk and tribal jewellery opens up another world both in terms and materials used and with regard to design. Widely worked-on materials include
lac, shell, beads and glass. Silver and a silver look-alike, an alloy of copper or tin and pewter, are much used in Himachal
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Kashmir and the tribal areas of Southern, Central and Eastern India.
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Published on 26th
August 2002
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