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A royal touch
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EXHIBITION Of photographs of exquisite jewellery belonging to erstwhile royalty
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Photo: M. Karunakaran
Exquisite A photograph of jewellery on display at the exhibition
Ever wanted to be privy to some exquisite jewellery that belonged to royalty? Then here is your chance at the ‘Indian Princes & Parisian Jewellers,’ a photography exhibition being hosted at the Government Museum. Held in association with The Alliance Française and the French Embassy, this exhibition has photographs displaying a wide range of jewellery. The exhibition was inaugurated by Shantini Kapur, Commissioner of the Museum. At the press conference which marked the launch of this exhibition, Marie-Paule Serre, the Director of Alliance Française, said, “The idea behind this exposition is to show how contemporary these age old jewels are even after a century and more.”
On display are 75 photographs which portray jewellery designed by famous French brands — Cartier, Mauboussin and Van Cleef and Arpels. The first contact with Cartier dates back to 1911, the year of the Delhi Durbar. The fobs which were all the rage then in Paris and London fascinated the Indian princes and a few Maharajahs ordered them.
The showstopper was clearly the photograph of a Cartier necklace in red and white created for the Maharani of Patiala in 1930. The sketch of the Mauboussin necklace designed for the Maharaja of Indore drew praise for its precision and intricacy in design.
Also on display was the photograph of the wax model and necklace made for the Maharaja of Patiala. “It is one of the most expensive pieces of jewellery in the world set with diamonds, rubies and the famous De Beers diamond. This beautiful piece suddenly went missing and then resurfaced in London in 1998 with a lot of stones missing. Cartier then purchased it and reset it with substitute stones,” said Serre. She also added that Cartier was inspired by Indian and Islamic designs and Mauboussin incorporates the art-deco style. This exhibition will be in Chennai till April 27.
PRIYADARSHINI PAITANDY
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