Arts of the Islamic World
Arts of the Islamic World
PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN NOBLE FAMILY
A DIAMOND-SET AND ENAMELLED AMULET PENDANT (TAWEEZ) WITH SEED PEARL STRING, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1900
Auction Closed
October 23, 04:16 PM GMT
Estimate
14,000 - 18,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property of a European noble family
A DIAMOND-SET AND ENAMELLED AMULET PENDANT (TAWEEZ) WITH SEED PEARL STRING, NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1900
square form pendant with openwork foliate design set with diamonds on both sides, with polychrome enamel floral borders, mounted with four Basra seed pearl strings, later cord for fastening and tassle
pendant: 7.8 by 5 by 0.6cm.
with seed-pearl string: 24.2cm.
Gifted by Asaf Jah VI Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi, 6th Nizam of Hyderabad (1866-1911).
Known as a 'taveez choti' or braid amulet, the present example was designed to emulate the talismanic boxes which contained scriptures and were worn for protection (Balakrishnan 2001). The added four seed-pearl strands would have been fastened to the braid of the wearer and worn as a symbol of status such as in the photograph of four of the wives of Mir Osman Ali Khan (Mahallat-e-Mubarak), each wearing a distinctive taveez choti, taken by Raja Deen Dayal and Sons (published in: Balakrishnan and Sadisharan 2018, p. 193). A comparable example is in the Ministry of Culture, Government of India collections, inv. no. NJ 95.149, ibid. p.184.