SOUTH INDIA, POSSIBLY ARCOT, LATE 18TH OR EARLY 19TH CENTURY

The conventional form of an Indian turban ornament (sarpech or jigha) is a plume surmounting a rosette. It was introduced by the Mughals following earlier Mongol and Timurid traditions of plume-ornamented headdresses, being a princely regalia and, eventually, associated with important persons within the vicinity of the ruling dynasty (Salam Kaoukji, Adornment and Splendor: Jewels of the Indian Courts, London, 2023, London, p.160). The playful shape of this jigha, however, is of an elephant, with its extension to the left and trunk connected to the rosette. Elephants, the traditional mount of a ruler, have long been associated with royalty and the presence of this motif suggests that this jigha originally belonged to a royal family member or favored associate.

Elephant head-terminals are usually seen on daggers, sword hilts, bracelets, and ankuses (Pedro Moura Carvalho, Gems and Jewels of Mughal India: Jewelled and Enamelled Objects from the 16th to 20th Centuries, London, 2010, p.254). However, only two elephant-shaped jighas are known, the other one also sold Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence, Christie's New York, 19 June 2019, lot 89. Animal-shaped jighas were possibly a favoured style within the workshops of South India, as the tip of two comparable turban ornaments in the Khalili Collection, London, can be read as the head of a lion-monster (Carvalho, op.cit., cats.93-94).

The screw at the bottom indicates that it was attached to another piece of jewelry in the turban, thereby also making it a convertible modern form (Navina Najat Haidar and Courtney Ann Stewart, Treasures From India: Jewels From the Al-Thani Collection, New York, 2014, p.61).