PROBABLY JAIPUR, INDIA, 19TH CENTURY

Details

A GEM-SET GOLD AND ENAMELLED SEVEN-STRAND NECKLACE (SATLARA)
PROBABLY JAIPUR, INDIA, 19TH CENTURY
Comprising seven graduated strands of freshwater pearls each supporting small drop-shaped panels flanking a central floral panel set with rubies, emeralds and pink sapphires, enamelled floral reverse on each
10in. (25.4cm.) high

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

Necklaces ranging from a single strand to those that are believed to have been over a thousand strands are repeatedly mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. Seven being an auspicious number is perhaps the most common. A comparable eighteenth-century satlara necklace strung on gold beads is illustrated in U. Balakrishnan & M.S. Kumar, Dance of the Peacock – Jewellery Traditions of India, Mumbai, 2010, ill.62, p.60. There is a nineteenth century four-strand necklace similarly strung on pearl beads with central gem-set pendants in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv.no. 03183 (IS), S. Stronge, N. Smith and J.C. Harle, A Golden Treasury: Jewellery from the Indian Subcontinent, Ahmedabad, 1988, pp. 124-125). For another seven-strand example which recently sold at auction, see Christie’s, South Kensington, 9 October 2015, lot 120.

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