2020-05-01_Lapidary_Journal_Jewelry_Artist

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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

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