Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A late 19th century Indian gold and gem set ‘aigrette’ or turban ornament, later adapted to a brooch/pendant, made for the Western market, modelled as a peacock with wings outstretched and tail fanned, with garland swag below, set throughout with graduated half seed pearls and accented with mixed-cut rubies and emeralds, with polychrome enamel head and neck, mounted in yellow gold, the reverse with engraved feather detail and applied with a receptacle to hold a single feather or cluster of feathers forming a plume (kalgi), with an applied plaque stamped ‘18ct’, to a later added flared seed pearl set bale and brooch fitting, length 67mm. £2000-3000

Britain’s association with India long predates the age of Queen Victoria. Since the early 17th century and the setting up of The East India Company and the subsequent establishment of British territories in the 1750s, the fascination with India has been seen in the Western arts. Following the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and the transfer of authority to the British Crown, Queen Victoria became Empress of India, with interest being further strengthened by the visit of the Prince of Wales to India in 1875-6.

The Great Exhibition of 1851 first brought Indian jewellery to the attention of an international public, with subsequent exhibitions adding to and building on its growing popularity.

Jewellery made for export became a huge part of the jewellery trade between Britain and India, incorporating traditionally made jewels and those adapted to Western taste. Numerous British jewellery houses established themselves in the major Indian cities such as Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, stocking jewellery imported from Europe as well as Indian regional jewels which in turn went back to Europe via exhibitions, agents or mail order.

The peacock, a native bird of India, long associated with the cultures of India and the Far East, symbolised royalty and power. A series of brooches made by Baugrand for the Paris 1867 Exhibition was probably inspired by the Jaipur gold and enamelled free standing ornaments, (an example of which can be seen in the British Museum) and the subject became increasingly popular. This example may well have been made for the Western market, following a fashion taken up by European jewellers emulating the Indian turban ornaments ‘sarpech/jigha’, the French term of ‘aigrette’ describing a fashionable hair or turban accessory for evening wear, often incorporating actual feathers.

See Oppi Untracht: Traditional Jewelry of India: Thames & Hudson page 387: “Aigrettes were used as an accessory for evening wear only since they were considered to be too showy for daytime display. The use of a feather in the design of a woman’s aigrette was never abandoned. Many other subjects however, were developed, amongst them the naturalistic flower sprig or bouquet, some inhabited by butterflies and other insects; birds with upward-extending tails, a sheaf of wheat stalks etc...
A peak in popularity began about 1860 and continued into the 1890s, and through to the Edwardian era, prior to World War One, with it becoming the most favoured of all European women’s head ornaments.”

See: Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria by Charlotte Gere and Judy Rudoe: The British Museum Press, 2010.