2020-05-01_Lapidary_Journal_Jewelry_Artist

86 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST

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Adornment

Exhibit

Geometric Snake Earrings

Early 20th century

Valallar

Tamil Nadu, India

The Art Institute of Chicago is currently featuring a

special jewelry exhibit, Adornment: Jewelry of South

Asia’s Nomadic Culture. The exhibit includes works of

cattle-herding nomads from tribes including the Ersari

and Kuchi of Afghanistan, the Balti of Pakistan, and

the Rabari and Ahir of India. In the 19th and early

20th centuries, these tribes moved seasonally across

Central and South Asia in search of fresh pastures.

Although they carried few belongings, these travelers

developed a material legacy of adornment practices

embodied in the textiles and finely crafted jewelry

they wore and bartered, practices that continued as

they settled into modest villages over time.

Bracelet with Temple Tower Filial

Early 20th century

Odisha, India

Pair of Temple Pendants

Late 19th/early 20th century

Katawaz Basin, Afghanistan

These adornments were made by artists using

a range of traditional techniques still practiced

today, including sandcasting, lost-wax casting,

stamping, engraving, enamel inlay, and the careful

twisting and soldering of wire. Such objects

served as expressions of tribal affiliation, personal

wealth, spiritual beliefs, and cultural heritage. They

functioned as capital and currency for men as well

as women, protected skin from sunburn and

insect bites, and stimulated vital pressure points,

or marma, to enhance fertility and relieve pain.

The exhibit is made up of works from the

collection of Barbara and David Kipper and will

run through January 9, 2021.

More at artic.edu

86_Facets_LJ_MJ20.indd 86 3/17/20 11:43 AM