Maharajas' Jewels - Hardcover

Prior, Katherine; Adamson, John

4.25

12 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 284323218X ISBN 13: 9782843232183

Publisher: Assouline, 2010

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The fascinating stories of Indian princes and their jewelry and precious stones are brought together in this sumptuously illustrated narrative tracing the rise and fall of India's leading royal houses through the dramatic fortunes of their crown jewels.

Famed since antiquity as a supreme source of diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, the Indian subcontinent afforded untold symbols of power and prestige to its many kings. From the sixteenth century forward, these stone were sought with unscrupulous avidity by the crowned heads of Europe, but even the rapacity of the British Empire failed to devour all of India's treasures. In the twentieth century, in a final flowering of regal splendor, many maharajas traveled to the West to have their jewels reset by the most prestigious jewelers of Paris, London, and Rome. It is this encounter between Indian princely magnificence and the best of European jewelry design that forms the book's centerpiece.

The authors offer a fresh, vigorous text drawing on original material from a wide range of government and private archives, and featuring many hitherto unpublished pictures alongside more familiar ones. From Sanskrit dramatists extolling the riches of India to the finest of modern Europe's jewelers crossing Asia in search of royal clients, a broad gamut of real voices and resplendent images brings to life the story of India's royal gems.

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About the Author:

Katherine Prior is a historian specializing in the British Empire, focusing on India. She has a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. She is regularly published in books and academic journals, and is also an exhibition consultant for the Museum of the British Empire. She lives in London.

John Adamson has studied at Devon and the Universities of Edinburgh and Geneva. He has worked at the Cambridge University Press, was head of publications at the National Portrait Gallery, and now runs a publishing house in Cambridge.

From Library Journal:

For a nation with a dismal economy, India has enormous gold reserves in the personal jewelry of the vast majority of the Indian people. However, the authors of this well-documented and beautifully illustrated volume focus on the jewelry of Indian maharajas and royalty, who saw it as a source of power and prestige. The six chapters span several thousand years, from Mughal times to the present, covering tales of untold riches and a history of exploitation by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, who exported precious gems and jewelry to the royal houses of Europe. Following India's independence from Britain, most of these treasures disappeared or went underground. Now this jewelry is once again on view in this spectacular work, highlighting the renowned Baroda pearls, Indore pears, and Arcot diamonds as well as creations by Boucheron, Cartier, Garrard, Harry Winston, and Van Cleef & Arpels. Weaving together mystery, intrigue, symbolism, and astrology, this fascinating book is a welcome addition to any library collecting books on jewelry. Stephen Allan Patrick, East Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Johnson City
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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