Origin of Name :-
The Indian Arya Necklace, an extremely complex
example of the goldsmith's art, executed by the traditional jewelry
craftsmen of Bikaner, in Rajasthan, India, in the 19th century, was
first part of an exquisite collection of jewelry that belonged to Madame
Ganna Walska, the Polish born renowned opera singer, who captured the
attention of audiences in the west, on both sides of the Atlantic, in
the early 20th century. Madame Ganna Walska's jewelry collection
included several pieces of Indian origin, such as the diamond pendant
necklace, diamond pendant clip, diamond pendant earrings and the Champa-Kali
ruby and diamond cluster bracelet. On April 1, 1971, Doris Duke, the
American tobacco heiress, philanthropist and art collector, acquired the
Indian Arya Necklace, at a Park-Bernet Galleries sale known as "the
Important Jewelry Collection of Madame Ganna Walska." The necklace which
was lot no. 102 in the sale, was purchased for $2,600 by Doris Duke.
Madame Ganna Walska, who was a nature lover and garden designer, sold
part of her jewelry collection in 1971, in order to finance one more
shipment of rare plants for her final
creation, the "Cycad Garden" at her 37-acre Botanical Garden at Santa
Barbara, California, known as "Lotusland," which was bequeathed together
with her fortune, at the time of her death in 1984 to the "Ganna Walska
Lotusland Foundation." Thus the name of the necklace quite appropriately
reflects the names of the two previous owners of the necklace.
Characteristics of
the Indian Arya necklace
This elaborate and complex necklace, which represents
the peak of refinement and advancement in jewelry crafting in
19th-century India, is made up of a variety of gemstones, such as
diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and seed pearls, set in gold, and
the reverse of the necklace covered with polychrome enamel, whose
function is believed to be two-fold, to preserve the original gold
content of the necklace, and increase the rigidity of the component
parts of the necklace. The diamonds, sapphires and rubies in the
necklace are placed in "kundan settings" The pearls and emeralds are
combined together as pendants on the lower half of the necklace and as a
row of spikes right at the top of the necklace. The blue sapphires are
placed in two rows of "kundan" settings in the upper half of the
necklace, one just below the upper layer of pearls and the other above
the halfway region of the necklace, just below the zone of diamond
rosettes. The upper row of blue sapphires are placed in oval shaped
kundan settings, with its long axis parallel to the vertical. The lower
row of blue sapphires are also placed in oval-shaped "kundan settings"
but the long axis of the oval areas are perpendicular to the vertical.
The area between the two rows of blue sapphires is a zone of diamonds
placed in "kundan" settings resembling rosettes or lotus flowers, with
diamonds occupying the petals of the flowers, and the center of the
flowers occupied by a large round-shaped cabochon ruby or diamond,
placed alternately. The region between the lower row of blue sapphires
and the halfway mark of the necklace, is occupied by three rows of
rhomboidal or square shaped "kundan" settings with diamonds in the
center. The halfway mark of the necklace is just below the rhomboidal or
square-shaped "kundan" zone.
Doris Duke/ Ganna Walska Indian Ariya necklace
© Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
The lower half of the necklace which is wider than
the upper half is totally occupied by four rows of triangle shaped "kundan"
settings" with a triangle-shaped diamond in the center. The size of the
triangles increase from top to bottom. Provision has been made for the
suspension of pearl and emerald pendants, from the lower side of each
triangle. In the upper most row of triangles, three pendants are
suspended from the lower side of each triangle. In the second row, below
this, four pendants are suspended from below each triangle. In the third
row five pearl and emerald pendants are suspended from each triangle. In
the fourth and the last row, six pendants are suspended from each
triangle. From the lower row of triangle shaped "kundan" settings, along
the median line of the necklace and from either side of it, three
rhomboidal shaped "kundan" settings are suspended, with nine pearl and
emerald pendants hanging from each one of them. The central rhomboidal
setting is slightly larger than the two rhomboids on either side. Each
of the rhomboidal "kundan" settings is occupied by a centrally placed
rhomboidal diamond. Silk cords placed on either side of the necklace are
used for wearing the necklace around the neck.
Thus in this elaborate "Arya" necklace two halves can
be distinguished. A narrower upper half which fits around the neck, and
a wider lower half which rests on the upper part of the chest.
History of the Arya
Necklace
History of "kundan"
settings. Rajasthan the hub of "kundankari" in India
The technique used in setting the diamonds, sapphires
and rubies in the Arya necklace is known as "kundan" an ancient
technique exclusively used in India for setting gemstones on gold and
silver jewelry, before the introduction of claw settings from the west
in the 19th century. The emperors of the Mughal empire who ruled India
from 1526 to 1858, were great patrons of the art, literature and poetry.
Among the arts that flourished during this period were the decorative
arts such as jewelry crafting and the performing arts such as dance and
music. Jewelry designing and crafting reached a climax during this
period and was given a big boost, as not only the emperor, but also his
wives and other members of the royal family bedecked themselves with the
most exquisitely crafted jewelry during their appearances at the royal
court. Apart from Delhi and Agra, Jaipur in Rajasthan also became a
center of jewelry production during this period, and several families of
artisans in Jaipur, had for generations worked for the Mughal courts in
Delhi and Agra. It was during this period the art of Kundan work known
as "kundankari" reached Rajasthan from Delhi. Due to the patronage
extended by the members of the royalty, the nobility such as the Rajputs
and the feudal lords, "kundan" work attained a high state of perfection
during this period, and Rajasthan became the hub of "kundankari" in the
entire subcontinent.
"Kundankari" is a
specialized job carried out by a series of skilled craftsmen like in a
modern-day assembly line
Definition of the
word "kundan"
The word "kundan" means "refined gold," the material
that is normally used for "kundan' settings. Silver can also be used for
"kundan" settings. The word "kundan" is now identified with the process
by which gemstones are embedded on gold and silver ornaments. Like
modern-day diamond cutting and polishing that is carried out in a series
of steps, each by a different craftsmen specialized in that step, "kundankari"
is also a specialized job carried out by a series of craftsmen, each
carrying out a specific task.
The different
steps of "kundan settings" carried out in succession by the "Chiterias,"
"Ghaarias," "Meenakaris," "Sunars," and "Jadiyas."
The first group of craftsmen are known as the "Chiterias"
who make the basic design in gold or silver. The next group known as the
"Ghaarias" are responsible for engraving and making holes, inside which
the gemstones are set. The third group known as "Meenakaris" perform the
polychrome enameling of the reverse of the piece of jewelry, which
induces rigidity to the components of the piece of jewelry, as well as
maintaining its gold content. The next step is the most important step
carried out by the "Sunars" or the goldsmiths, embedding the gemstone in
gold. Lac, which is a natural resin is first poured into the holes where
the gemstones are to be set. Over the lac, highly refined melted gold,
known as "Kundan" is poured into the hole. The gold is allowed to cool,
and while it is still pliant, the gemstones are pushed into the "kundan,"
by the stone setters known as the "Jadiyas." Diamonds, emeralds, rubies,
sapphires, jade, agate, garnets, amethyst, spinel, topaz and rock
crystals are some of the common gemstones used in "kundan" settings.
When the gold finally hardens, the gemstones get embedded in it, giving
a strong permanent mount, even stronger than the modern claw settings.
More "Kundan" is applied around the edges of the gemstones to strengthen
the setting, as well as giving it a neat appearance. The edges of the "kundan"
settings are therefore raised up, and the gemstone is situated within
these raised edges.
Identifying "kundan"
jewelry
Kundan jewelry can be easily identified by these
raised edges along the contour of the design. In the Doris Dukes's Arya
necklace, such raised edges can be seen in the lotus flower, rhomboidal
and triangle setting of diamonds, oval settings of blue sapphires and
the round setting of rubies in the center of the lotus flower.
Source of the
gemstones in the Arya Necklace
The source of
diamonds
The gemstones used in the Arya necklace are diamonds,
sapphires, rubies, emeralds and pearls. Being a 19th-century necklace,
the source of the diamonds in the necklace can still be India, either
from the overexploited diamond mines on the river basis of the eastern
Deccan plateau, where sporadic mining had still been taking place before
the mines were finally abandoned towards the end of the 19th century.
Alternatively the diamonds could have come from the diamond fields of
Brazil, where diamonds were discovered in the early 18th-century by the
Portuguese colonizers, significant quantities of which reached the
western diamond markets and through them the courts of some Indian
Maharajahs. The diamonds could also have from pieces of old Indian
jewelry which were dismantled for recasting into new jewelry, in which
case the source still remains Indian.
The source of blue
sapphires
The source of the blue sapphires in the necklace was
undoubtedly Sri Lanka, the world's most prolific source of blue
sapphires since very ancient times, and India's closest neighbor,
separated from the Indian mainland only by a shallow sea known as the
Palk Straits. In the late 19th century blue sapphires were also
discovered in Kashmir, but were soon exhausted. The Kashmir blue
sapphires have set the standard in the world for the highest quality
blue sapphires known as cornflower blue sapphires.
The source of
rubies
The three large cabochon rubies in the necklace might
have originated in Myanmar (Burma), large quantities of which reached
the Indian market after the discovery of rubies in Burma in the 16th
century. The Burmese rubies fetched high prices in the Indian jewelry
markets during the period of the Moghul empire, and most of the annual
production of rubies in Burma were just sent across the border to India,
reaching Kolkata, from where they reached the other jewelry
manufacturing centers.
The source of
emeralds
The source of the emeralds in the necklace, was
undoubtedly Colombia, large quantities of which reached the Mughal
empire via Madrid in Spain. The Mughal emperors had a special liking for
the brilliant green emeralds from Colombia, and the art of engraving
emeralds was perfected during this period, most of which were
incorporated in jewelry originating from this period.
The source of
pearls
The pearls in the Arya necklace, most of which have
the popular white color, originated either from the pearl banks in the
Gulf of Mannar, between India and Sri Lanka, or the pearl banks of the
Persian Gulf. Pearls from the Gulf of Mannar were said to be superior in
quality to the Gulf pearls, having the pure white color, unlike the Gulf
pearls which had a slightly yellowish tinge.
Bikaner, the historic
15th-century city in Rajasthan where the Arya necklace was designed
Rajasthan, a
treasure-trove of Indian arts and crafts
Rajasthan is a state with rich cultural traditions, a
treasure-trove of Indian arts and crafts, particularly the decorative
arts, prominent among which were the art of processing gemstones
including diamonds and jewelry crafting, which incorporated the
processed gems into a variety of male and female jewelry. The arts and
crafts of Rajasthan prospered due to the patronage of the royalty and
nobility that ruled India, particularly the long period of rule of the Mughal emperors. Some of the arts and crafts that received royal
patronage included, carving on wood, marble, sandstone, quartz and
ivory; weaving of carpets and textiles; pottery; painting such as wall
painting, fabric painting and miniature painting; puppetry; embroidered
leather work; the processing of precious and semi-precious stones; the
designing and manufacture of jewelry, including "Kundankari," "Meenakari"
(enameled jewelry) and Jadau. Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, founded
in 1727, is the main center of the gem and jewelry trade in Rajasthan
today. However, previously other cities like Jodhpur and Bikaner were
also centers where the gem and jewelry industry flourished.
Bikaner, the
sprawling historic desert city of Rajasthan
The Doris Duke/Ganna Walska Arya necklace was created
by the traditional jewelry craftsmen of Bikaner, in Rajasthan, India, in
the 19th century. Bikaner is a historic city founded in 1488, by a
descendant of the founder of Jodhpur, named Rao Bikaji. The city is
located in northwestern Rajasthan, amidst the Thar desert, and has a
typical desert climate, with very little rainfall and extreme
temperatures, with a hot summer season sometimes exceeding 50°C
and a cool winter season, when the temperature drops down to the
freezing point. The city is famous for its rich historical tradition and
culture, consisting of beautiful forts, castles, religious shrines and
other historical monuments. Bikaner is also famous for its desert
camels, camel safaris, and the camel festival held annually in the month
of January. Bikaner has earned an international reputation as the home
for Asia's biggest camel farm, The city is encircled by high
fortifications, consisting of a 7 km long wall that bounds the old city,
which has five entrances. Bikaner occupied an important position on the
ancient caravan routes, serving as a trading center for merchants coming
from West Asia (Middle East) and Central Asia. Previously Bikaner was
the capital city of the princely state of Bikaner, but when Rajasthan
State was created in 1947, Bikaner became the capital of Bikaner
District, the largest district in Rajasthan, situated in the
northwestern region of the state.
Bikaner maintained
its ancient artistic traditions, that was responsible for the creation
of the traditional Arya necklace in the 19th century
The most prosperous period in Bikaner, was under the
reign of Maharajah Ganga Singh, who built modern Bikaner as we see it
today. Bikaner still maintains some of its ancient artistic traditions,
and is well known today for its handicrafts and leather articles, as
well as the 16th to early 20th century painting techniques known as "Usta
Art." Bikaner also maintained its traditional jewelry industry, such as
"Kundankari" and "Meenakari" and hence in the 19th century was able to
create the Doris Duke/Ganna Walska Arya necklace, that combined both
these techniques.
Ganna Walska - A
short biography
The origin of the
name Madame Ganna Walska
Born Hanna Puacz in 1887 in Brest-Litovsk, Poland, at
the time part of the Russian Empire, she pursued a career as an opera
singer, taking the stage name of Madame Ganna Walska. The appellation
Madame was traditionally used to refer to well-known actresses and
operatic singers in Europe at that time. Ganna is the Russian form of
the name Hanna, and Walska apparently refers to her favorite music, the
waltz.
Madame Ganna Walska Polish Soprano
Her marriages and
development of her singing career go hand in hand
Early in her career, as an adolescent, she drew the
attention of a Russian count, Baron Archadie d'Eighnhorn, an officer in
the Russian army, whom she married in St. Petersburg, but divorced
him in 1914 due to his drunken habits. She left Russia during the
upheavals of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and continued to pursue
her singing career in the 1920s and 1930s in Europe and across the
Atlantic in America. She married her second husband Dr. Julius Fraenkel,
a renowned New York Endocrinologist, who died in 1919. Soon after that
she took her third husband Alexander Smith Cochran, a multimillionaire
sportsman and carpet tycoon, who was said to be the richest bachelor in
the world, but that marriage too ended in divorce in 1920.
Her 4th marriage
to McCormick who actively promotes her career was her longest surviving
marriage
She then married industrialist Harold Fowler
McCormick, who took an active part in promoting her career in the 1920s.
Madame Ganna Walska sang in New York and Paris, and also toured America
and Europe, attracting the attention of audiences, critics and gentleman
admirers, on both sides of the Atlantic. Her marriage to McCormick was
perhaps the longest surviving one lasting over 10 years, and ended in
divorce in 1931.
Her fifth marriage
to English inventor Harry Grindell Matthews also lasted for about 10
years
He fifth marriage was to an English scientist and
inventor Harry Grindell Matthews, who claimed to have invented a death
ray, which is a particle beam or electromagnetic weapon, that could
theoretically destroy life from a distance. Harry tried to sell his
invention to the British Air Ministry in 1924, but was never able to
show a functioning model or demonstrate it to the military. Her marriage
to Harry also lasted for about 10 years until his death in 1941
Her 6th marriage
to Theos Bernard based on common spiritual affinities, but lasted only 5
years
Madame Ganna Walska was now 54 years old, and even at
this age, men fell in love with her after spending just days or hours in
her company. However, she was now growing tired of married life, and was
getting spiritually inclined, studying spiritual teachings in search of
creative fulfillment and personal enlightenment. It was then that she
met her sixth and last husband, Theos Bernard, who too was spiritually
inclined like her, and was a scholar of Yoga and Tibetan Buddhism. In
1941, Bernard encouraged her to purchase the 37-acre Cuesta Linda estate
in Santa Barbara, California, with the intention of using it as a
retreat for Tibetan Buddhist monks. She renamed the estate as "Tibetland."
However, the monks were unable to visit the United States, because of
wartime restrictions on visas to the United States. In spite of their
spiritual affinities, Madame Ganna Walska's marriage to Theos Bernard,
lasted only for about five years, ending with divorce in 1946.
In 1946 after her
6th marriage ended in divorce she settled to a life of "retirement" in her
estate in California, "Lotusland"
After her sixth marriage ended in divorce, Walska
decided to remain single. She changed the name of her estate in
California, to "Lotusland" after the sacred Lotus flower (Nelumbo
nucifera) growing in the ponds of her garden, that was sacred not only
to Tibetan Buddhists, but all Buddhists around the world. Madame Ganna
Walska settled to a life of "retirement" in "Lotusland" occupying the
Spanish-style house inside the estate.
Change of role
from opera singer to garden designer
While settling down in "Lotusland," Walska had
actually gone into retirement from her busy life as an opera singer.
This did not mean that she had settled to a life of total relaxation.
What actually took place was a transformation from her role as a
well-known socialite to an entirely new role as a garden designer. In
fact her role as a garden designer was more demanding than her previous
role as an opera singer, and consumed most of her time, energy and
resources. She transformed her "Lotusland" into a botanical garden of
rare plants, using her natural artistic talents, and creating a fantasy
world of exquisite beauty. She was assisted in achieving her
horticultural ambitions by a number of specialists in the field of
landscape architecture, such as Lockwood de Forest Jr., Ralph T.
Stevens, William Paylen, Oswald da Ross and Charles Glass. But the
overall landscaping decisions were in her hands, and she took the final
decision on all aspects of designing. She designed and created over a
dozen unique gardens, each with its own unique collection of plant
species, from all over the world, usually belonging to a single genera,
family, order or class, such as the Aloe garden, and the Cycad garden.
She always went for the most unusual and best plants available,
and was willing to pay any price to get them. Her unshakable
determination in completing the work she started was clearly
demonstrated in 1971, when she auctioned off some of her jewelry,
including the Doris Duke/Ganna Walska Arya necklace, the subject of this
webpage, in order to finance one more shipment of rare plants, to
complete her final creation the Cycad Garden.
The history of "Lotusland"
Lotusland was originally owned in the late 19th
century by Ralph Kinton Stevens, himself a gardener, horticulturist and
commercial plant nursery owner, who lived with his family in his house
inside the estate. Most of the large palms and other trees that stand in
the estate today were planted during his period. Stevens died in 1896,
and his widow sold the property long after his death, in 1913, to George
Owen Knapp, who later sold it in 1916 to E. Palmer and Marie Gavit of
New York. The Gavit family constructed their main residence, designed by
Reginald Johnson, inside the estate in 1919. They lived in the estate
until 1938, and during this period the house was remodeled, and
additional buildings constructed, designed by George Washington Smith,
who also designed the perimeter wall and the original swimming pool
which is now the lotus pond, and the adjacent bath house. The Gavit
family employed the services of landscaping architects like Paul Theine,
Peter Reidel and Lockwood de Forest, and converted the estate into a
well designed garden, and named it "Cuesta Linda." In 1938, a British
diplomat, Sir. Humphrey O. Clarke purchased "Cuesta Linda" from the
Gavit family, and occupied the property with his family from 1939 to
1941. He is believed to have made some architectural modifications to
the main residence but the garden itself was left untouched.
Madame Ganna Walska Plaque at the entrance to lotus
land.
Madame Ganna
Walska converts "Lotusland" to a Botanical garden with the dual purpose
of enhancing its beauty and conservation
It was from the Clarke's family that Madame Ganna
Walska, purchased "Cuesta Linda" in 1941, with the intention of
converting it into a "meditation center" for the Tibetan Buddhist monks.
But, when her original plans did not materialize due to unforeseen
circumstances, she decided to convert the estate to a botanical garden,
a safe ecological niche not only for rare indigenous species but also
rare exotic species from the far corners of the world, with the dual
purpose of enhancing the aesthetic beauty of the estate, as well as
conserving some of the rare species in the world. Any casual visitor to
the "Lotusgarden" would agree that Madame Ganna Walska had
undoubtedly achieved her first goal of enhancing the beauty of the
estate, but to some extent she has also achieved her goal of
conservation, as some rare species of plants, such as the Cycad,
Encephalartos woodi is today found only in "Lotusland" and extinct in
the wild all over the world. The scientific community no doubt
recognizes her services and efforts at conservation, and perhaps had
decided to honor her by naming the exotic tropical "Water Lily" as
Nymphaea x 'Madame Ganna Walska."
Madame Ganna
Walska bequeaths "Lotusland" and her fortune to the non-profit Ganna
Walska Lotusland Foundation
At the time of her death in 1984, at the age of 97,
she left "Lotusland" and her fortune to the non-profit Ganna Walska
Lotusland Foundation, with the condition that the gardens be open to the
public. Accordingly, the foundation that manages the estate today, has
opened the gardens for guided public tours, conducted by personnel
known as "docents" who have undergone extensive training in giving
public tours.
The Australian
Garden surrounds the visitor's center
The public tours start at a new visitors center, established
in the estate's 1920s Spanish colonial revival bathhouse, that was
designed by George Washington Smith. The newly created "Australian
garden" with exotic species from Australia, surrounds the visitor's
center, whose vegetation contrasts dramatically, with the
long-established vegetation beyond the entrance to the garden.
The Theatre
Garden, Topiary Garden and Blue Garden
Out of the 13 distinct gardens in the estate
connected by well-maintained pathways, two of the more fanciful ones are
the "Theatre Garden" and the "Topiary Garden." The "Theatre Garden"
depicts a troupe of 17th-century stone figures on the lawn against a
backdrop of fern pines. In the "topiary garden" large evergreen animals
graze around a giant in-ground clock. The "Blue Garden" is the home to
some of the oldest trees on the estate, consisting of magnificent
Chilean wine palms, growing alongside blue Atlas cedars. The palms were
planted more than a 100 years ago by the first owner of the estate,
Ralph Kinton Stevens. The blue-grey succulent Senecio mandraliscae
and a dense ground cover of ornamental blue fescue, together with large
pieces of blue-green glass edging the pathway, complete the bluish
effect that the name of the garden denotes.
The Aloe Garden
and Cycad Garden
The "Aloe Garden" contains more than 100 different
species of Aloe, from different parts of the world, from the tree to the
ground-hugging types, with their usual spiny, fleshy, sword-shaped
leaves, and inflorescences of a variety of colors, such as vermilion,
coral and yellow. In the center of this garden is a shallow pond, with
lustrous abalone shells fringing its edges, into which two giant
clamshell fountains spill water. The "Cycad Garden" Walska's last
creation in the 1970s, with 370 specimens from all over the world, that
look like chubby palms to the common layman, but are actually primitive
cone-bearing plants related to the conifers, is considered by many
horticulturists as the most important collection in the estate, and one
of the finest in the world, including species that are now extinct.
Ponds containing
the aquatic lotus plants and water lilies
The lotus flowers (Nelumbo nucifera) from which the
garden gets its name, was first introduced by Ralph Kinton Stevens in
1893, and the aquatic plant with its large round leaves waving on
slender stalks above the water, are found in the "Japanese Garden" pond
and the water garden near the bathhouse. Water lilies (Nymphaea x Madame
Ganna Walska), including the giant Amazon water lily, also grow in these
ponds. One of the gardens is an oak grove, highlighted by the pinks and
purples of hundreds of bromeliads, floral relatives of the pineapple.
The drive leading to the entrance of the estate's Spanish style house
built in 1919, which is now the foundation's office, not open to the
public, is lined by spiny golden barrel Cactus, with towering Euphorbia
ingens plants, standing guard at the entrance.
Doris Duke's Indian
Jewelry Collection
The status of the
jewelry industry in India at the time Doris Duke visited the country in
1935
At the time Doris Duke first visited India, in 1935
as a part of her worldwide honeymoon tour, India and its culture were
still quite mysterious to most people in the west including the United
States. She was entranced by the decorative arts and architecture she
saw in India. Indian decorative arts, including the manufacture of
jewelry was alive and well at that time, employing thousands of
craftsmen, and supported by over 600 pre-independence princely states.
The ready availability of gemstones, such as diamonds from Golconda,
rubies from Burma, sapphires from Sri Lanka, emeralds from Colombia,
pearls from the Persian Gulf and Sri Lanka, and enormous supplies of
semi-precious stones from local sources, and the large pool of skilled
craftsmen available in the country, were some of the factors
responsible, for maintaining the long tradition of jewelry designing and
crafting in the country.
Doris Duke
develops a passion for Mughal architecture during her first trip
During her first trip to India, whatever information
she gathered about Indian jewelry came from the wives of British
Colonial officers she happened to meet at that time, and not from the
users of such jewelry, the Indian women, who were still leading an
isolated existence, and socialization with indigenous males, or
foreigners both male and females was still taboo. However, Doris Duke
did develop a passion for Mughal architecture during her first trip,
after her visit to Mumtaz Mahal's mausoleum the Taj Mahal, built by her
beloved husband, Emperor Shah Jahan. She was so entranced by the Mughal
architecture, that she hired an architect in Delhi to design door and
windows, to be fabricated and inlaid with gemstones, such as jade,
agate, malachite, lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl by craftsmen in Agra,
to be shipped later to America. She later incorporated these doors and
windows, when she built her new house in Hawaii, Shangri La, which today
houses her extensive collection of Islamic art, and is presently owned
and managed by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA).
Doris Duke
purchases most of her Indian jewelry during subsequent trips to
India
Doris Duke might have purchased some Indian jewelry
during her first trip to India, but her actual collection of Indian
jewelry began during her subsequent trips to the sub-continent in the
pursuance of her other passions, such as collection of Islamic Art. She
developed a special liking for Indian jewelry designs, and during her
frequent trips to the country purchased a variety of jewelry, both
antique as well as contemporary designs.
Summary of Indian
Jewelry purchased by Doris Duke
Interesting
information derived from the above summary
The above summary of Doris Duke's Indian Jewelry
collection provides some interesting information.
1) Most of the jewelry pieces (13 out of 27) she
purchased originated in the capital city of Rajasthan, Jaipur, or
another city in Rajasthan like Bikaner. The origins of other pieces are
:- 2 pieces from Delhi; 2 pieces from Tamilnadu; 1 piece from Hyderabad;
8 pieces from India (state unspecified), 1 piece from Northern India.
Thus it appears that she purchased most of the pieces of jewelry from
cities she visited in Northern India, such as Delhi and Jaipur in
Rajasthan. She might also have purchased pieces of jewelry from Bombay,
the commercial capital of India, and the main gem jewelry market for
several centuries.
2) The last three pieces (25, 26 and 27) were
purchased from Madame Ganna Walska's collection in 1971, at Parke-Bernet
Galleries sale.
3) The collection consists of 3 armlets, 4 bangles, 4
bracelets, 1 belt, 1 cigarette holder, 2 ear ornaments, 1 hair ornament,
1 hand ornament, 8 necklaces, and 2 pendants.
4) The period of origin of the jewelry pieces are as
follows :- 1 piece fro the 17th century; 2 pieces from the 18th century;
11 pieces from the 19th century; 5 pieces from the 20th century; 3
pieces from late 18th or early 19th century; 3 pieces from late 19th or
early 20th century, and 2 pieces of unknown period of origin. Thus 17
pieces of jewelry originated in the 19th-century or before. Only 5
pieces are of 20th-century origin. Thus most of her pieces of jewelry
can be regarded as antique. Only 5 pieces are of recent origin.
5) Most of the pieces of jewelry (20 pieces) have
their gemstones set in kundan settings, with polychrome enamel (meenakari)
deposited on the reverse. The combination of "kundankari" and "meenakari"
in jewelry is characteristic of jewelry produced in Northern India,
particularly in cities like Jaipur and Bikaner in Rajasthan. The two
pieces of jewelry from Tamilnadu, in South India, do not have polychrome
enameling (meenakari) on the reverse.
6) 19 pieces of jewelry have diamonds in their
setting. This is obvious as India was the only country in the world
where diamonds were produced since ancient times, and production
continued until the end of the 19th-century. 14 pieces of jewelry
contain rubies, that originated in Myanmar (Burma). 11 pieces of jewelry
contain pearls, that came from Sri Lanka or the Persian Gulf. 4 pieces
of jewelry contain sapphires that also originated in Sri Lanka. 6 pieces
contain emeralds that originated in Colombia.
,
Historical
significance of the Doris Duke/Ganna Walska Arya Necklace.
The Doris Duke/Ganna Walska Arya Necklace has great
historical significance not only because it was designed and created in
the 19th century, but also because it came to be owned by two of the
most prominent and illustrious ladies in history, Madame Ganna Walska,
the renowned Polish soprano and Doris Duke, the American tobacco
heiress, philanthropist and art collector. The necklace with its
complicated design is a rare and unique piece of jewelry that combines
two of the most popular techniques in jewelry crafting, "kundankari" and
"meenakari" for which Rajasthan had been famous since ancient times.
Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, is one of the main centers of the gem
and jewelry industry, today in India.
You are welcome to discuss this
post/related topics with Dr Shihaan and other experts from around the
world in our
FORUMS (forums.internetstones.com)
Related :-
1)
Doris Duke's Pearl Bracelets
2)
Doris Duke's Pearl and Diamond Ear Pendants
External Links :-
1) Welcome to Lotusland -
www.lotusland.org
References :-
1) Gems From The East And West - The Doris Duke
Jewelry Collection. Janet Zapata, Ulysses Dietz, Zette Emmons. Published
by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. 650, Fifth Avenue, 19th Foor, New
York.
2) Lotuslands History - www.lotusland.org
3) Ganna Walska - From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
4) Kundan Jewelry - www.iloveindia.com
5) Arts & Crafts - Complete information about
Rajasthan - www.rajasthaninfoline.com
6) Bikaner - From Wikipedia, the free encuclopedia
7) Bikaner -
www.bharatonline.com
8) Bikaner Information - www.rrindia.com
9) About Kundan Jewelry - www.ehow.com
10) Jaipur - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
11) Kundan Jewelry - www.culturalindia.net
12) Lotusland - Ganna Walska Lotusland, Santa
Barbara, California - Lynn Ocone.www.findarticles.com
