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A ruby-set gold 'jasmine buds' necklace (malligai arumbu malai) Tamil Nadu, South India, early 20th Century image 1
A ruby-set gold 'jasmine buds' necklace (malligai arumbu malai) Tamil Nadu, South India, early 20th Century image 2
A ruby-set gold 'jasmine buds' necklace (malligai arumbu malai) Tamil Nadu, South India, early 20th Century image 3
A ruby-set gold 'jasmine buds' necklace (malligai arumbu malai) Tamil Nadu, South India, early 20th Century image 4
Lot 144

A ruby-set gold 'jasmine buds' necklace (malligai arumbu malai)
Tamil Nadu, South India, early 20th Century

12 November 2024, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £20,480 inc. premium

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A ruby-set gold 'jasmine buds' necklace (malligai arumbu malai)
Tamil Nadu, South India, early 20th Century

comprising faceted conical elements each set with a single ruby below an engraved foliate element, alternating with further engraved foliate sections, attached to a flat chain, the engraved openwork clasp in the form of two hamsa birds, with securing pin
58.5 cm. long; 202 g.

Footnotes

Provenance
Acquired in Delhi in 1994.

The distinctive design of the present lot derives from the culture of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala region, where such necklaces would have been worn by the bride during a traditional wedding. A comparable 19th Century example is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, bequested by Cynthia Hazen Polsky in 1991 (Accession No. 1991.32.2). For further examples, see Usha R. Bala Krishnan & Meera Sushil Kumar, Indian Jewellery: Dance of the Peacock, India, 2001, pp. 102-3, Cat. 145 & 146.

Additional information