Jewellery
in India - A 5000 Year Old Tradition...
In India, the tradition of wearing jewellery
took its root five thousand years ago. Excavations at
Mohenjodaro and other sites of the Indus Valley
civilization uncovered a wealth of ornaments and the
Ramayana and the Mahabharata are abounded with vast
descriptions of jewellery. From ancient times,
Jewellery in India was not only used for religious,
social or simply aesthetic purposes, but gems and
stones have also been used for health and
healing purposes. In India, jewellery is considered as
a means of embellishment, individuality, identity,
security and social contract. It converses the message
of power, hierarchy, love, hate, marriage etc.
Therefore, in India, jewellery is associated with the
four aspects of human life – health, wealth,
religion, and power. No history can
claim a jewellery tradition more vigorously entrenched
than India's!
In
ancient India, people used to wear jewellery made of
materials such as bones, stones, shells, flowers etc.
With the course of time different materials like gold,
sterling silver, white gold, platinum and titanium
were introduced for making jewellery. India
being a "gem-bearing" country has been a
treasure trove of various precious stones and
many stunning stones, diamonds, pearls, beads and
other materials are used to make the jewellery
articles. Lapis lazuli, turquoise, coral,
carnelian, jasper and a variety of semi precious hard
stones were introduced from the Indus valley cities of
Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Lothal.
Each
& every state of India has its own originality in
craftsmanship for making jewellery and hence provide a
vast collection of variety and styles. Indian
jewellery is not just a craft, but evolved into an art
– both in workmanship & designs. Its ethnicity
is as original as the designs itself.
In
India also, the designs and styles of jewellery have
been changing through times. Today’s Indian
jewellery is a combination of culturally rich ancient
craftsmanship and modern styles. Indian costume
jewellery is not restricted to any particular metal or
stone and has the benefit of being trendy and still
very cultural while being enormously affordable.
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