Introduction
Large flawless diamonds from the Golconda region. Rich
green emeralds from Colombia. Blood-red rubies from Burma. Only the most
visually striking would do, set in the purest gold. For more than 5,000 years,
jewelry has played an integral role in the history of India. Wars were fought
and empires won and lost in pursuit of these riches.
Yet, because of cultural practices, relatively little
of the historic jewelry exists, the gems and precious metals repurposed by
succeeding generations. The jewels in “Centuries of Opulance: Jewels of India,”
which will be on display in Carlsbad until March 2018, are on loan from a
private collection and showcase more than 300 years of adornment in India from
the 17th to the 20th century, including several from the magnificent Mughal Era
(1526–1857).
JOURNEY OF THE GEM
Some of our most celebrated
diamonds—including the infamous Hope and Koh-i-Noor—originated from India’s
famed Golconda mining area. The Indian aristocracy kept the best for themselves
and traded the balance for emeralds, rubies, sapphires, spinels and pearls from
all corners of the earth.
Quality was paramount. Only the finest gems and purest gold
would evoke maximum power to honor the gods and serve as talismans to ward off
evil. Gemologists were valued members of most royal courts in India. The Mughal
Emperor Aurangzeb (reign 1658–1707) had three in his entourage: one to care for
the gems, a second to estimate their value, and the third to grade them and
detect treated gems or imitations. Gemological knowledge was passed from father
to son for generations, but also taught in texts such as the notorious Kama Sutra.
Today, GIA conducts research and
educates thousands to continue this tradition of expanding and perfecting
gemological knowledge: investigating how gems form and establishing clues to
their origin from some of these fabled sources.
Emerald
Green is a powerful life force in India.
The most coveted green gem was emerald, the vibrant green variety of the
mineral beryl. Early emeralds were brought primarily from Egypt’s legendary
“Cleopatra’s mines,” found in the hills inland from the Red Sea. But these
stones were typically pale and heavily included.
Coincident with the rise of the Mughal
Empire in the 1500s, Spanish soldiers in South America conquered the warlike
Muzo tribe and took control of their emerald mines in the lush green jungles of
what is today Colombia. Galleons laden with emeralds from the Muzo and later
Chivor mines sailed the brutal Atlantic Ocean to Spain. The finest of these
alluring green gems entered the king’s coffers or were sold to Portuguese
merchants, who carried them to India’s coastal trading center of Goa—and on to
the royal treasuries. Over time, emeralds were brought in from other countries,
such as Afghanistan and Brazil, but none surpassed the finest emeralds from
Colombia.
NAVARATNA GEMS
Worried about your livelihood? Suffering from a chronic
illness? Desperate for money or power? The navaratna (“nine
gemstones”) was one of the most powerful talismans in the Hindu religion, one
that was eventually adopted by Muslims as well. The nine gems represent the
celestial bodies of Indian astrology—Sun (ruby), Moon (pearl), Mercury
(emerald), Mars (coral), Jupiter (yellow sapphire or topaz), Venus (diamond)
and Saturn (blue sapphire)—and the rising (zircon or hessonite) and descending
(cat’s-eye) nodes of the moon.
Set
in jewelry in a prescribed arrangement, they protect the wearer from the
negative energies of the planets and strengthen the positive benefits of the
different gems, bringing good health, wealth, mental strength and wisdom. When
the gems are set in a circular pattern, the ruby (sun) is traditionally in the
center, as it represents the center of the solar system. As quoted in S. M.
Tagore’s Mani-mala, all the gems “must be high-born and flawless.”
At the time navaratna was
introduced, believed to be during the 10th century, all these gem materials
were found on or near the Indian subcontinent. In fact, India’s history of
diamond mining and pearl fishing extends back more than 2,000 years; in ancient
times, large portions of its coastline were protected by vast coral reefs.
Today the eastern state of Orissa alone produces ruby, sapphire, emerald
(beryl), garnet, topaz, zircon and cat’s-eye chrysoberyl. The gems of navaratna represent the natural treasures of this
ancient civilization.
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