A Hindu drama, "the Toy Cart," written about the same time, describes a jeweller's workshop where craftsmen examine pearls, topazes, emeralds, sapphires, lapis lazuli, coral and other jewels. Some set rubies in gold, some string gold beads on coloured thread, some string pearls, some grind lapis lazuli, some cut shells and some turn and pierce coral. Sir George Birdwood points out the close relationship of such operations to the practice of the present day. A dialogue in the drama has reference to the skill with which jewellery was even then imitated.
Few early examples of Indian jewellery have been preserved to the present day. The sculptures of Sanchi, Bharhut, Amravati and Orissa, and paintings such as those of Ajanta, demonstrate the sim ilarity in appearance of the ancient jewellery to that still made and worn. Numerous representations of the Hindu gods, whether human or animal, illustrate the early use of tiaras, necklaces (sometimes hanging in festoons to the waist), armlets at the elbow, bracelets, anklets and other forms of jewellery.
One of the oldest known examples of ancient Indian jewellery in existence is a small relic casket found in a Buddhist shrine in the Kabul valley near Jellalabad. It is of gold, studded with balas rubies, and when found it contained burnt pearls and coral, and beads of sapphire, agate and crystal, besides a number of small gold ornaments. Coins found with the casket show that its work manship is to be attributed to the ist century B.C. It betrays Greek influence, due to the conquests of Alexander the Great.
The Indian goldsmiths are expert in the economy of the precious metals, beating gold and silver into the thinnest plates. Bracelets often end in the head of an animal ; earrings represent the flower of the lotus; and various blossoms are fashioned for hairpins. It is principally in the south of India that elaborate gold jewellery is made with subjects in relief from the Hindu mythology. The ancient art of soldering gold in minute granulations has never been lost. The crescent-shaped gold brooch (Pl. VII., fig. I) made at Delhi, with gold pendants and openwork setting, is an admirable example. Filigree is done in many places ; the silversmiths of Cuttack, of Kashmir and of Bengal excel in this work. The armlet (P1. VII., fig. 2) formed of diamonds set in gold upon a glass foundation is of Bengal workmanship. The back is ornamented
with flowers in coloured enamels.
The art of enriching gold jewels with enamel has been carried to great technical perfection in India, particularly at Jaipur in Raj putana. The pattern is chased and engraved in sunk relief on the jewel, and the hollows filled with transparent enamel in brilliant hues, principally red (derived from copper and iron), green (from copper), and opaque white (from tin). The turban-ornament (Pl. VII., fig. 3) of gold is a beautiful example of Jaipur enamelling of the i8th century. The peacock and the surrounding floral orna ment are in translucent coloured enamels on an opaque white ground. The rim was formerly mounted with a row of pearls. Three other chased gold turban-ornaments illustrated were made in the state-workshops of Jaipur in the 17th and early part of the i8th century. Two (Pl. VII., figs. 4-5) are enamelled in red, green and opaque white; the other (Pl. VII., fig. 6) is in green enamel. The last turban-ornament illustrated (Pl. VII., fig. 7) is of Benares workmanship. It is of gold, with rubies, emeralds, dia monds and pearls set in gold filigree.
The jewellery of Burma and Siam has a semi-Chinese charac ter. The Burmese necklaces, with their multitudinous strings of gold beads, sometimes interspersed with pearls and gems, are char acteristic. Five Siamese gold ornaments are here reproduced. The hairpin (P1. VII., fig. 13) is used for fixing the knot on the top of the head. The small urn-shaped case (P1. VII., fig. 15) is for holding scented ointment. The jewelled rings (Pl. VII., figs. 12, 14, 16) are in the form of dragons.