Enrica Medugno
Senior Sale Coordinator
Lot 145
An impressive gem-set gold manga malai necklace Tamil Nadu, South India, 20th Century
12 November 2024, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£15,000 - £20,000
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Oliver White
Head of Department
An impressive gem-set gold manga malai necklace
Tamil Nadu, South India, 20th Century
Tamil Nadu, South India, 20th Century
composed of 54 linked mango-shaped elements, each set with a diamond in the centre surrounded by rubies, surmounted by a ruby-set floral motif, interspersed by foliate elements set with rubies, the units strung on a flexible flat woven gold cord, the clasp in the form of two addorsed peacocks and set with rubies, diamonds and an emerald, verso plain gold
26.2 cm. diam.; 324 g.
26.2 cm. diam.; 324 g.
Footnotes
Provenance
Private UK collection.
The manga malai (mango garland) is unique to South India. It is traditionally worn for special occasions such as weddings and was also worn by devadasis or temple dancers. The forms of the manga malai are derived from nature. The mango, in Indian mythology, symbolises love. The manga malai has its origins in the Chola period and even earlier, with bronze and stone sculptures adorned with multiple necklaces of similar design. For two comparable illustrations, both featuring a central floral element, see U. Balakrishnan, Indian Jewellery - Dance of the Peacock, India, 2001, ill. 229 & 230, pp. 158 – 159.
Examples in museum collections include one in the David Collection, Copenhagen (illustrated in O. Untracht, Traditional Jewelry of India, London 1997, p. 234, no. 494) and others in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, the Khalili Collection, London (illustrated in India: Jewels that Enchanted the World, Kremlin Museum, Moscow 2014, exhibition catalogue, nos. 18 & 19).