About this lot
Description
An oval diamond and enamel Kundan-Meena ring, the rub over set oval facetted and foil backed diamond measuring approximately 16 x 13mm within a bezel of dark blue enamel decoration, the closed back lavishly enamelled with white, red, blue and green foliate and symmetrical designs, the shoulders decorated with green and red enamelled flowers, to a plain shank, unhallmarked yellow metal tested using X ray fluorescence spectroscopy as an alloy of 98% pure gold, 0.8% copper and 1.2% silver, size J-L,
Provenance: The property of an Indian family for three generations Other Notes: In the traditional Rajasthani Kundan style of jewellery, flat, facetted or uncut stones are set in high carat gold jewellery using foil backings often made of gold leaf. Meenakari, or enamelling, is the art of decorating jewellery using bright coloured enamel in intricate designs. Over the centuries the two skills became combined, and the result is Kundan-Meena jewellery. In the 17th century, the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan invited Persian enamelling specialists to train his own master-craftsmen. His artisans combined the techniques of this Persian art with Indian styles and colours. The resulting pieces of jewellery had brilliant coloured enamel on one side and magnificent hand-cut diamonds, rubies, emeralds or sapphires on the other side. This new style of jewellery flourished during the Mogul era and was hugely popular with Rajasthan royalty. Its popularity remains to this day and fine examples of Kundan-Meena jewels are in great demand by connoisseurs and collectors worldwide. The technique of Meenakari requires a high level of skill. Delicate and intricate designs of flowers, birds, animals or motifs are etched or engraved onto the piece. This creates walls and grooves which are filled with coloured enamel dust. The pieces are placed in a furnace and the intense heat melts the dust with the molten liquid filling the grooves. The walls prevent the spread of the enamel, maintaining the pattern or design. This process is repeated with each individual colour due to their different melting temperatures. Colours with the highest melting temperatures are applied first as they will be re-fired with each additional colour. Timing is critical, and the risk of damage to the previously fired colours increases with every new colour added. The rejection rate for damaged items is very high - up to 30%. After the last colour has been fired, the object is cooled and polished with agate. The depth of the grooves determines the play of light, and the number of different colours on a piece is an indication of the level of skill of the craftsman and the quality of the item. This ring is decorated with blue, green, white and red enamel. Red takes the least amount of firing and is the most difficult of all the colours to apply. Items with red enamel have the highest rejection rate of all. Both Kundan setting and Meenakari are very labour-intensive tasks which require the skills of highly trained, specialist craftsmen. This ring is a fabulous example of this ancient art and may well have taken up to three months to produce - from the design (chitrakari) and drawings through to the finished piece - truly a jewel fit for a Mogul emperor.
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