From glass beads to geometric shapes: The evolution of jewellery style in the subcontinent

Sporting a lovely backless robe in black, she stood on the pink carpet in Cannes. But it was her jewelry that genuinely caught everyone’s consideration – golden chains adorned her back, her hair pulled into a bun with a ‘khopar kata’, a ‘bajuband’ wrapped about her arms. She also wore a thick bracelet called ‘ratan chur’ on her still left hand.  

Skip Universe Bangladesh 2020 Tangia Zaman Methila’s accessories at this year’s Cannes were the fantastic amalgamation of modern and traditional jewelry of the Indian subcontinent. 

They have been created by Lora Khan, the founder of 6 Yards Story, an online jewellery retail store in Bangladesh. 

“When I saw her gorgeous costume, I understood it was a modern day look she was going for. But she also desired a touch of custom. Which is when we came up with this established,” explained Lora Khan. 

“The back again piece highlighted a triangle and straight traces of chains, though the baajuband, hair accessory, and the rings showcased round motifs. “This is the aspect of present day jewellery these days, a ton of geometric patterns and a futuristic seem. Along with it, we integrated conventional jewellery items like ratan chur, khopar kata, bajuband, and haatphul,” she extra.  

The metallic items are produced of steel with a golden complete. 

“As we have no institutions to research or obtain schooling on jewelry creating, the models and the classic strategies are dropped.” Md Masud, Place of work secretary of the Bangladesh Jeweller’s Affiliation (BAJUS)

In 2021, Bangladeshi actress Azmeri Haque Badhon also attended Cannes donning a regular jamdani shari with a halter neck shirt, with jewelled belts at the back. The belts showcased round, as properly as tear fall-formed, jewels.    

Not only manner jewellery (also acknowledged as imitation or costume jewelry), gold and silver jewelry styles have also modified above the several years. 

As I grazed more than outdated jewelry pieces of my mother, aunts and sisters for this post, and a tonne of old wedding day movies from the 1990s, I recognized how the models and motifs have improved. 

While regular gold and silver items these types of as jhumka (chandelier earrings), pearl strings and chokers, pendants, extensive chains with ball details, kanpasha (ornament encompassing the full ear), ratan chur, ruli (skinny bangles), kankan (thick bangles), jhapta (ornament pinned on one particular facet of the head) and so forth are continue to quite well-known, fashion jewellery has viewed several design phases. 

From glass beads to Mughal motivated crescents 

The Mahasthangarh Museum in Bogura and the Wari-Bateshwar Museum in Narshingdi has a assortment of glass and stone beads of numerous measurements and designs. 

Glass beads were being rather prevalent back then, and had been created in a large selection of methods and shapes. Gold-foil glass beads were being discovered in Mahasthangarh, Chandraketugarh, Harinarayanpur, and Deulpota. This kind of beads have also been described in a very confined selection from various other websites in the subcontinent. 

According to famous bead researcher Peter Francis Jr, the opaque brown and orange-crimson glass beads are Indo Pacific monochrome glass beads observed in Mahasthangarh, Wari-Bateshwar, Chandraketugarh, Harinarayanpur, Deulpota, Mangalkot, and Tamluk.

In accordance to Banglapedia, the cores, flakes, and unfinished beads of crystal, agate, amethyst, jasper and marble reveal that the Mahasthangarh area was a stone bead production centre.

Historians say that the artisans of the Indus Valley Civilisation designed tubular or barrel-formed objects out of semi-important supplies such as carnelian, agate, turquoise, faience, steatite, and feldspar. Then they decorated them with carvings, bands, dots, and designs, or set them minutely in gold. 

Excavations at Mohenjo-daro and Indus Valley unearthed a substantial number of ornaments worn by people of ancient periods. This has built it feasible to believe that both women and adult men belonging to the historic period of time wore jewellery designed of silver, ivory, gold, copper, semi-precious and cherished stones.

The spectacular Mohenjo-daro necklace presently on screen at the Delhi Countrywide Museum’s jewellery gallery is a testomony of this. The virtually 5,000-year-previous necklace is lined with pendants built of banded agate and jade beads strung by a thick gold thread that passes via every bead’s precisely drilled gap.

The paintings at Ajanta and Ellora caves, and the sculptures on the Khajuraho temple and at Bharhut, Sanchi, and Amaravati show a selection of jewelry worn by women of all ages and adult men, kings and commoners.The standard motifs made use of in temples like lotuses and peacocks have been also highlighted in the parts. 

The Mughals introduced some stunning jewelry from central Asia (Persia and Afghanistan) and delivered the framework for the progression of the two classic and slicing-edge jewellery-producing tactics. They integrated numerous geometrical designs, the sunlight, moon and stars, floral, and mother nature-impressed patterns to subcontinental jewellery. 

A single of the most famous motifs is the crescent and stem structure – frequently noticed in earrings with a short stem at the summit of a crescent, from which a fish is suspended – which turned a frequent element of Mughal jewellery.

They brought quite a few procedures and designs like meenakari, jadau, kundan, geometric designs and floral patterns. In the late 16th century, Mughal courtroom goldsmiths combined two techniques – kundan environment and enamelling – producing a new design and style that is nevertheless used in conventional Indian jewelry. 

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a selection of Mughal-era jewelry that features a amount of thumb rings. Identical rings are noticed in portraits of the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan and their sons in court docket paintings of about 1610-1620. 

Just one these kinds of ring has the approach of placing rubies and emeralds in dense patterns towards a floor of chased gold. The thumb ring is enamelled (meenakari) on the within, as is normally the scenario with Mughal jewelry. 

Listed here, even so, the motifs and colours of the enamel are strikingly European and this might suggest that the enamelling was accomplished by a European craftsman at the Mughal courtroom, of whom there had been a tiny selection at this time. 

Augustin Hiriart of Bordeaux, for illustration, produced styles for thrones for Jahangir and Shah Jahan and was a qualified enameller.

In the 17th century, as the Europeans travelled to India, they introduced their jewelry as well.  European influences spread more than India and jewellery designs began to adjust. 

Well-known jewelry corporations like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Mellerio, and Chaumet Jewels also commenced creating parts for Indian Kings and Queens in the 19th and 20th generations. Cartier involved South Indian floral patterns with vibrant gems in their creations. 

The Taj Mahal Emerald, a 141.13-carat carved emerald, or the Patiala Ruby Necklace, are some of the most elaborate jewelry parts developed by Cartier in the 1920s. 

But 1 thing that was prevalent in the jewellery company was that it was a symbol of wealth, energy and may well, which was usually worn by the kings and queens and the strong. Jewelry was not a part of a commoner’s life. 

But with extra democratisation, jewellery grew to become a portion of people’s lifetime. Currently gals have on their wedding ceremony rings on the fourth finger to the thumb, mainly because it is thought that the nerve is linked to the coronary heart of a girl. In the rural locations of Bangladesh, the new bride is provided a nose pin by her in-rules, which is a image of married gals.  

Also, Hindu married women are offered ‘bichua’, ‘chutki’ or toe rings created of silver to be worn on the next toe. It is thought that it improves a woman’s means to give start.

A shift to a lot more modern day models

Modern day jewellery types are less complicated and more minimalistic with thoroughly clean lines and geometric designs. They are also designed with a variety of materials, like wooden, beads, and plastics, in addition to standard elements like gold and silver.

The shift in the direction of much more present day and modern day designs of jewelry is reflective of the switching social and financial landscape of the Indian subcontinent. As much more ladies enter the workforce and grow to be fiscally independent, they are trying to find jewellery that is functional and can be worn on a each day foundation. Modern jewellery is also a lot more obtainable and cost-effective, creating it additional attractive to more youthful generations.

Lora Khan, who is an architect by occupation and an artist and designer by heart, was mesmerised by the conventional parts of jewellery her mother and grandmother possessed in their previous jewellery containers. 

Sensitive flora and fauna engraved on gold bangles, moon and flower styles woven with gold and silver on earrings and pendants, butterflies captured on hair components and bracelets –  all these overwhelmed her creative soul. 

Then 1 day, Lora took her notebook and graphite pencil and commenced drawing patterns that resembled her favourite jamdani saree borders. That is how 6 Lawn Story’s renowned jamdani motif jewellery was born. 

The established incorporates a pendant and a pair of earrings created of bronze with a gold and silver finish on major. In addition to these modern day types, Lora desires to bring back again the outdated pieces that women from her prior technology wore. She has commenced a collection based on these types. 

She claimed, “Individuals utilized to put on gold and silver jewelry just before. But now there are numerous fashion jewellery offered in the sector – designed of clay, steel, wooden and so on. But the new layouts are also influenced by the present models.” 

“For illustration, chaandbali or moon earring is formed in a circle or crescent, resembling the phases of the moon. The motifs used in the standard items of jewelry were being like this – encouraged by nature – flower, sun, moon, butterfly, hen etcetera. We are recreating the motifs and models in several mediums”. 

“While coming up with conventional jewellery, I didn’t have adequate style inspiration at hand, as most of my kin have previously exchanged their jewelry with present day parts. So, I went by means of old wedding shots and video clips and researched on-line to get thoughts for the pieces,” said Lora.   

“Immediately after 1971, the economic system transformed a good deal. Men and women didn’t have that considerably revenue to on their own. So, the 1970s and 1980s gold jewellery showcased a easier and extra minimalist glance. There experienced been a great deal of taar or chain designs again then, which gave the influence of an elaborate piece for the reason that there was not a lot gold. Also, the pendant was created of gold but the strings had pearls or beads,” reported Chidam, a goldsmith, who has been doing work in the Tanti Bazar region of Aged Dhaka for the very last 40 yrs. 

“The gold jewelry that arrives from the Center East or Malaysia are extremely heavy. But the speciality of our goldsmiths is they can recreate the exact design and style with a lot less gold. And shoppers are looking for modern-day designs, wearable and very affordable patterns”, stated Md Masud, office environment secretary of the Bangladesh Jeweller’s Affiliation (BAJUS). 

“As we have no establishments to research or acquire coaching on jewelry producing, the patterns and the conventional strategies are dropped,” he opined.   

Madhusree Shanchita Smriti is the proprietor of an on line jewelry shop named Rhee. She will make jewellery parts with seeds, cloth, yarn and steel.  

“Women of all ages now favor to have on distinctive style jewelry items with diverse outfits. When the traditional gold and silver jewelry are shiny, my seeds equipment are fairly off-tone with far more earthy colours. Women of all ages aged amongst 30 and 45 yrs appreciate my jewelry and I assume that is what the present-day craze is now,” she stated.  

Men and women are going for metallic and artificial jewellery due to the fact treasured metals have develop into fairly pricey. 

Intricate layouts vs smooth uncomplicated styles

The intricacy of modern day jewelry has also reduced in excess of time. “The way you can mould a piece of silver, you could not do that with other metals before, and even these days. Gold and silver are smooth metals, easily malleable. So, it was quick to carve intricate models on them, whereas present day steel is hard to work on. That is why most of the modern day metallic jewelry has basic geometric designs,” Lora Khan reported. 

And also, gold is a much less reactive metallic, which assists it remain shiny for a for a longer time time. On the other hand, copper, steel or other steel loses its glow with time. 

Jewelry-producing strategies

In the e book ‘Indian People Jewellery (Patterns and Methods)’, German author Waltraud Ganguly talked about additional than 15 jewelry-creating strategies that are practised in the Indian subcontinent. They include wire-work, enamel or meenakari,  inlay in jade, casting and shed wax strategy, glass and mirror inlay, granulation and filigree application, kundan, moulding, wax filling, punching, thewa, chasing and so forth. 

“There was a time when jewelry pieces have been handmade with procedures like thokai, kaatai (reduce), jaali, chila (scraped) and many others.  These tactics produced every piece one of a kind. But then the dice arrived and the thokai technique was dropped. The patterns you can carry with a specific system simply cannot be recreated with other folks. This is how a good deal of models and also artisans were misplaced,” reported Chidam. 

Jewellery in Kamasutra and ancient architecture

Piercing the ear lobes to have on earrings is a follow adopted in India from historical situations, and while most girls are witnessed carrying it now, earlier they were worn by  men as well. 

The ear piercing ceremony or karnavedha was an vital ceremony amongst Indians. We even now see this exercise in some areas of Previous Dhaka. 

Prthukarnata or very long distended earlobes induced by wearing heavy earrings was at the time deemed a signal of attractiveness and greatness therefore we discover Buddha with prolonged distended earlobes from various intervals and from different sections of India. 

In fact, Agnipurana describes Buddha (Santatman) as Santatma lambakarnasca gaurangascambaravrtah, which suggests Santatma (or he who has a tranquil soul), is extended-eared, truthful, and wears garments.

Jewelry is an necessary part of ancient Bangla literature and architecture as effectively. Charyapada has a verse ‘Avoron Soutini Maan’, which suggests ‘jewellery items are the enemy of adore making’.  

In the erotic artwork of historical India, the figures ended up constantly bare, all apart from for jewelry. Loud jewelry was worn by a girl who needed to bring in the awareness of a particular gentleman, when higher-class ladies usually wore refined jewelry.

According to the Kamasutra,  women would wear a girdle of jingling bells about their waist all through sexual intercourse, making certain no seem was made, to prove their practical experience in it.