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archives, and featuring many hitherto unpublished pictures alongside more familiar ones.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.
Maharajas' Jewels
Maharajas' Jewels,Katherine Prior,John Adamson,Vendome Press,086565218X,Asia - India,Asia - India & South Asia,Crafts & Hobbies,History - General History,Hobbies/Crafts,India,Jewelry,Jewelry Arts And Crafts,Art / General
Nice Books:
- Maine Cottages : Fred L. Savage and the Architecture of Mount Desert
- Maine in America: American Art at the Farnsworth Art Museum
- Maine Living
- Make a Profit with Your Passion : Starting a Home-Based Art Business
- Make It in Clay: A Beginner's Guide to Ceramics
- Make Your Creative Dreams Real by Sark 2005 Calendar
- Make Your Mark: Explore Your Creativity and Discover Your Inner Artist
- Make Your Own Artist's Tools and Materials (Dover Craft Books)
- Makeup: The Art of Beauty
- Makeup Your Mind
Recommended Books
- Mi Fu : Style and the Art of Calligraphy in Northern Song China
- Neural Networks in the Capital Markets
- Investment Blunders of the Rich and Famous...and What You Can Learn From Them
- Macroeconomics : Principles and Tools
- Lectures on the Early History of Institutions
- Function, Selection, and Design
- Historical Dynamics: Why States Rise and Fall
- Matters of Life and Death: New Introductory Essays in Moral Philosophy
- Human Prehistory in Fiction
- Healthy Cooking for One
- Grandmother's Garden Quilt
- Hopes and Dreams: An IEP Guide for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Maritime History as World History
- Environmental Management for Hotels: A Student's Handbook
- France, 2nd