John Adamson

Katherine Prior

The fascinating stories of Indian princes and their jewelry and precious stones are brought together in this sumptuously illustrated narrative tracing the rise and fall of India's leading royal houses through the dramatic fortunes of their crown jewels. Famed since antiquity as a supreme source of diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, the Indian subcontinent afforded untold symbols of power and prestige to its many kings. From the sixteenth century forward, these stone were sought with unscrupulous avidity by the crowned heads of Europe, but even the rapacity of the British Empire failed to devour all of India's treasures. In the twentieth century, in a final flowering of regal splendor, many maharajas traveled to the West to have their jewels reset by the most prestigious jewelers of Paris, London, and Rome. It is this encounter between Indian princely magnificence and the best of European jewelry design that forms the book's centerpiece. The authors offer a fresh, vigorous text drawing on original material from a wide range of government and private archives, and featuring many hitherto unpublished pictures alongside more familiar ones. From Sanskrit dramatists extolling the riches of India to the finest of modern Europe's jewelers crossing Asia in search of royal clients, a broad gamut of real voices and resplendent images brings to life the story of India's royal gems.

Maharajas' Jewels

Vivienne Becker

Jack Ogden

Judy Rudoe

This spectacular volume reveals for the first time an exceptional private collection of the most beautiful royal Indian jewels from the Mughal Empire to the British Raj to today. Written by renowned jewelry experts and featuring magnificent original photography by Laziz Hamani, Beyond Extravagance explores the centuries-long tradition of fine jewelry and art objects in India, to contemporary interpretations that continue to evolve today.

Katherine Prior

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