VENICE.- Dazzling gems, precious stones and jewels brimming with centuries of history and legend, together with historic and contemporary creations take us on a journey through five centuries of sheer beauty and remarkable craftsmanship charting the glorious tradition of Indian jewellery: from the descendants of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane to the great Maharajas, whose lavish jewellery commissions in the 20th century produced stunning and innovative works from the European jewellery houses.

Since antiquity, India has been a land rich in precious stones and home to an extraordinarily refined jewellery tradition. Here, gems and jewels are an integral part of daily wear and lifestyle. South Asia is renowned for the fine quality of the diamonds from Golconda, beautiful Badakhshan spinels - ruby-like in their colour - and the enchanting hues of Kashmir sapphires. The region also received rubies from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Burma, as well as pearls from the Persian Gulf.

When the Mughal rulers rose to power in the 16th century, their master jewellers elevated their craft to an incomparable art form in its own right.

Promoted by Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and presented against a stunning and ethereal backdrop in the Doge’s Palace, Venice, the exhibition Treasures of the Mughals and of the Maharajas – The Al Thani Collection will give the Italian public the first-ever opportunity to admire nearly 300 pieces from the precious collection assembled by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, a member of the Qatari Royal Family.

In India, jewellery is about more than embellishment. Every gem has its own meaning that refers to a cosmic purpose, or invokes a favourable horoscope. In popular culture, particular forms of jewellery suggest the rank, caste, region of birth, marital status or wealth of the wearer. Precious metals and gemstones have also been used in the adornment of courtly rooms, as well as in ceremonial dresses, weapons and furnishings.

The Venice exhibition is an incredible journey into the universe of Indian jewellery from the 16th century to the present day. The route is marked by the milestones of this art, which has never ceased to amaze and fascinate Western minds, arousing their curiosity with images of jewel-bedecked royals and gods.

It is a spectacular trip through five centuries of remarkably refined artistic taste and perfected technique, represented by historic Indian diamonds and legendary jewels. The curators of the exhibition are Amin Jaffer, Senior Curator of The Al Thani Collection, and distinguished Italian scholar of East Asian art Gian Carlo Calza; Gabriella Belli has been appointed academic director.

The historical starting point of the exhibition is the court style of the Mughals (1526 1858), the Timurid Dynasty founded by Babur after his conquest of much of Northern India in 1526. The Mughals developed their own style and disseminated it across India from the first years of the dynasty, but it is to the fourth and fifth Mughal emperors that we owe the golden age of patronage, when jewellers crafted marvellous creations that merged exceptional quality gems with both Eastern and Western art and culture.

With the Mughal decline, the consequent period of political instability, and the drift into British colonial rule from the mid 18th century, the patronage of great jewellery passed into the hands of rulers of the successor states, be they maharajas, nizams or nawabs. Wealthy and increasingly westernised in their tastes, these rulers sometimes worked closely with the leading European houses, particularly with Cartier. They brought new life into jewellery, setting ancient gems in modern compositions and creating a new design by mixing Indian traditions with Western jewellery culture.

The exhibition opens with an evocation of the Mughal treasury, focused particularly on inscribed dynastic gems. The very nature of Mughal lands, so rich in precious stones and metals, fostered the development of a refined tradition of ornaments and jewellery sets.

Visitors will be guided through the treasures of The Al Thani Collection as they admire the extraordinary assortment of dynastic gems, beginning with two particularly famous diamonds. They are The Idol’s Eye, the world’s biggest cut blue diamond; and Arcot II, one of the two diamonds given to Queen Charlotte – wife of King George III (1738-1820) – by Muhammad ‘Ali Wallajah, Nawab of Arcot (1717-1795). Both diamonds come from the legendary mines of Golconda.

These unique jewels are displayed together with emeralds and spinels, some of which are engraved with the names and titles of the rulers who owned them. Mughal artistic taste is a key element of the exhibition, as is the dialogue the Mughals engaged with Europe throughout stylistic and technical exchanges beginning in the Renaissance. The strength of the bond between Europe and India is testified by the frequent use of enamelling in Indian jewellery, a technique inspired by Renaissance courts.

Jade and rock crystal were also highly prized at the Mughal court, and the second section of the exhibition displays some fascinating examples. In Islamic culture jade was understood to invoke victory and was also believed to detect and counteract poison. The Wine Cup of Emperor Jahangir, inscribed with verses of Persian poetry and the titles of the monarch, is considered the earliest dated Mughal jade. The Shah Jahan dagger (1620-1625) bears the title of the emperor inscribed on its blade while the jade hilt depicts the head of a youth, considered to be a masterpiece of Mughal courtly art.

Indian jades were also highly sought after in China. This can be seen, for instance, in an elegant cup made between 1660 and 1680, decorated with an ibex head and featuring an engraved poem written by Emperor Qianlong in the late 18th century.

Indian jewels are characterized by the use of very refined polychrome enamels and by the distinctive kundan technique, which allows gems to be set in gold without the use of a prong. Instead, strips of malleable pure gold are used to fashion the mount, forming a molecular bond around the gem.

The third section of the exhibition will display a selection of artefacts made with these two procedures and coming from various regions of the Indian subcontinent. One of these objects is the extraordinary Pen Case and Inkwell (Deccan or North India, 1575-1600), made from solid gold and encrusted with precious gems. Objects like this one were often used by high-ranking court functionaries to write imperial decrees and they are represented in many paintings. The object is a unique survival although images of this form are seen in contemporary miniature paintings.

Another masterpiece of this section is the tiger-head Finial from the throne of Tipu Sultan, made for the ruler’s accession to power. This gold-encrusted and gem-set throne was dismantled after Tipu was killed by British forces who conquered his capital at Seringapatam in 1799. Some of its components ended up in the British Royal Collection while others, like this finial, have re-surfaced only recently.

Among the other remarkable items displayed in this section is the superb collection of green enamelled jewel-encrusted objects, dating back to the 18th century and coming from Hyderabad ateliers. They were originally used in rituals and ceremonies during audiences at court, and are now tokens of the ancient Indian tradition, waiting to be admired by the public.

Built around regalia and ornaments, the fourth section offers a variety of striking items, including a number of turban ornaments dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. This part of the exhibition highlights expressions of power in a courtly context, whether under Mughal influence or that of the East India Company and British Raj.

Visitors will be also able to appreciate an extraordinary collection of diamond necklaces and other extraordinary jewelled articles like the sword of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the fabulous Canopy that formed a part of the Pearl Carpet of Baroda, commissioned by Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad between 1865 and 1870. The silk covering the deerskin is richly decorated with silver, gold, coloured glass, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and around 950,000 pearls. This exquisite item was intended to be placed inside the tomb of Prophet Mohamed in Medina, but the gift never left for its destination.

In this section of the exhibition it is Europe’s turn to shine, with a selection of jewels from the leading Western houses, either designed for Indian princely courts or inspired by Indian jewellery. Visitors can feast their eyes on the sublime enamel peacock aigrette created by Mellerio dits Meller (Paris 1905) and bought by Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala.

Maharaja Bhupinder of Patiala was a particularly important patron and an idea of his taste is evident from the ruby choker made by Cartier for one of his wives. This section will also feature two of the most fascinating Cartier creations for Maharaja Digvijaysinhji – heir of Maharaja Ranjitsinhji of Nawanagar – a fine connoisseur of precious stones himself and a close friend of Jacques Cartier: the marvellous Tiger Eye, a gold-coloured diamond mounted into a turban ornament; and a remarkable Art Deco necklace made with rubies belonging to Nawanagar’s collection.

The exhibition closes with a tribute to contemporary goldsmithing thanks to a display of Indian jewels and European jewels inspired by the Indian tradition. From his Mumbai studio, Viren Bhagat combines today’s materials and techniques with ancestral forms and motives. His works are placed side by side with Cartier and JAR creations that incorporate historic Indian gems.

The exhibition showcases a magical collection of unrivalled magnificence, an enchanting story covering five centuries of design and beauty, it also tells the story of the relationship between Eastern and Western culture and society. Many are indeed symbols, rituals and beliefs related to the world of jewels in India.