ANTIQUE DIAMOND AND ENAMEL SARPECH
ANTIQUE DIAMOND AND ENAMEL SARPECH
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ANTIQUE DIAMOND AND ENAMEL SARPECH

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ANTIQUE DIAMOND AND ENAMEL SARPECH
The turban ornament set with variously-shaped table-cut diamonds, blue, green, white and red enamel on the reverse with plume holder, foil, gold on a lac core, 10 ½ ins., mid to late-19th century

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Daphne Lingon
Daphne Lingon

Lot Essay


Sarpech is Hindi for 'head feather' but is generally known as a turban ornament. It was worn almost exclusively by the emperor, Indian princes and their immediate family. Considered the ultimate symbol of royalty and sometimes used as a reward for exceptional service to the emperor, it evolved from the tradition of pinning a heron's feather (kalgi) to the front of a turban. Even during the reign of Jahangir (1569-1627) a sarpech can be seen in most portraits when they were painted in miniature. During the reign of Shah Jahan (1592-1666), sarpechs became much more elaborate and began to be jewel encrusted. After Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1857 no Indian Prince was supposed to wear a crown and perhaps this explains the emergence of highly elaborate and jeweled sarpechs with their own interpretation of royalty.

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