RAJASTHAN, NORTH INDIA, LATE 18TH/19TH CENTURY

Bangles were worn by both women and men in India and were usually acquired in pairs, a tradition followed even today. The small size of this pair suggests that they were probably made for a child or a young adult. The delicate arrangement of single gemstones in gold mounts on the exterior and the white enamel ground of the flowers on the inner surface indicates a late 18th or 19th century dating. Red enamelled flowers on a white ground are usually associated with Jaipur. For two comparable pairs of nineteenth century makara-head bracelets with the inner surface enamelled in a similar palette, within thin bands of light blue enamel with gold reserved rectangles, see P. M. Carvalho, Gems and Jewels in Mughal India, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Vol. XVIII, London, 2010, nos.144, 145, pp.252,253.