Jewels and Treasures of India
Dreaming of India (I): engraved gemstones and Mughal influence in modern jewellery
Emeralds engraved with Qur’anic verses or vegetal scrolls, spinels inscribed with the names of rulers, cascades of natural pearls, the gemstones of imperial India have fuelled the imagination of Western jewellers since the twentieth century.
From the splendour of the Mughal courts (1526–1858) to the Art Deco creations of the 1920s, and through to their contemporary reinterpretations, this fascination has shaped a unique aesthetic language - one that bridges imperial memory and stylistic modernity.
For a few days this month, Geneva (GemGenève, Sotheby's, Christie's, Phillips) was the setting for some of the most extraordinary jewellery in the world, including pieces from India, Mughal pieces and pieces influenced by Indian jewellery art of the highest order.
I. THE MUGHAL LAPIDARY LEGACY
Under the Great Mughals (16th–18th centuries), gemstones were far more than ornamental or aesthetic objects: they embodied power, piety, and dynastic memory. Selected for their colour, purity, and weight, spinels from Badakhshan and emeralds from Colombia were typically polished or fashioned into codified shapes, and at times engraved in the royal kārkhānas (workshops) with the names, titles, or lineage of emperors - often accompanied by astrological formulas. These inscriptions, as emblems of sovereignty, bestowed a sacred and political status upon the gem. Passed down through generations, such stones were worn in ostentatious necklaces or around the upper arm as bazuband, serving as protective talismans. The presence of multiple inscriptions on a single stone often reveals a succession of imperial appropriations, turning these gems into veritable dynastic archives.
A- Illustrating this tradition, three magnificent Mughal jewels dating to the mid-18th century will be offered at auction by Christie’s New York on 17 June 2025.
A three-strand Mughal necklace of pink spinels and natural pearls.
Emblematic of Mughal jewellery in its monumental scale, impressive weight (nearly half a kilo), colour gradation (from soft rose to intense reddish-pink), and the baroque shapes of its polished spinels, this necklace reflects the style depicted in Mughal miniatures from the 18th century. Earlier emperors typically wore such gems in long ropes or single strands, short or extended.
On eight of the forty-five spinels composing the necklace are discreetly engraved the names of prominent Indo-Muslim rulers: Muhammad ibn Tughluq, Jahangir Shah (son of Akbar) - recorded no fewer than four times! - , Mahmud Shah, and Babur Shah Badshah.
According to the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF), the inclusions observed under microscopic examination, along with the analysed physical properties, match those of spinels originating from the remote Kuh-i-La valley in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, a legendary source of exceptional spinels since antiquity.
A Mughal Necklace of Engraved Emeralds
Dated circa 1750, this necklace brings together five Colombian emeralds of a characteristically deep green hue, most of them engraved on both sides. The total weight of the stones is approximately 1,150 carats. Three are hexagonal in shape, echoing the natural crystalline form of emerald rough, while two pear-shaped stones (108.50 and 106.50 carats) are engraved identically with rows of stylised leaves. The two hexagonal emeralds (294 and 199.50 carats) are each decorated with distinct floral and vegetal motifs. The central and heaviest emerald, weighing 470 carats, is adorned with a large blossoming flower - possibly a peony. On its reverse, which has been left simply polished, is delicately engraved the name of Ahmad Shah Durrani. This ruler, founder of the Durrani Empire (Afghanistan, 1747), is also named on the beautiful Timurid spinel from the Al-Sabah Collection (LNS 1660 J) and on two famous gemstones now part of the British Crown Jewels: the so-called Timur Ruby (which is, in fact, a spinel), and the renowned Koh-i-Noor diamond.
According to the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF), the microscopic inclusions and material properties of these stones match those of Colombian emeralds mined in the legendary regions of Muzo, Coscuez, and Chivor, poetically described by the laboratory as lying “in the lush foothills of the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes.” The cutting and engraving style, as well as the aged filler substances (oil) observed within the fissures of the stones, provide additional confirmation of their historical origin.
A Third Mughal Necklace of Exceptional Provenance.
This third necklace combines four natural pearls, a Burmese ruby bead, a spinel bead from Tajikistan, and four Colombian emeralds with a total weight of approximately 297 carats. For the Mughals, the green hue of emeralds symbolized the gardens of paradise, in keeping with Islamic iconography. Although this gemstone was already known in India prior to the arrival of the conquistadors, thanks in part to deposits in what is now Pakistan, it was the large-scale exploitation of Colombian mines by the Spanish, beginning in the mid-16th century, that enabled its widespread import into Asia. This necklace stands out not only for the gemmological quality of its stones but also for their historical significance. In contrast to the two preceding pieces, however, these emeralds bear no engraving.
SSEF, 2022, report no. 126238: Emeralds: Colombia, indications of clarity modification, minor (E2) to moderate (E1, E3, E4) amount of oil in fissures at time of testing. Spinel: Tajikistan, no indications of heating, moderate amount of oil in fissures at the time of testing, Ruby: Burma, no indications of heating, minor amount of oil in fissures at the time of testing. Pearls: natural pearls, saltwater, with appendix letter regarding this Exceptional Emerald Strand. Size/Dimensions: spinel to ruby panel 22.8 cm (9 in); cord 53.3 cm (21 in). Gross Weight: 163.2 grams. $2,000,000-3,000,000. Lot 42. Sotheby's new York, June, 17, 2025.
The selection of materials - each with a distinct provenance - illustrates the intercultural nature of gem trade in the early modern Islamic world.
B- From the Peacock throne to exile: The fragmented trajectory of the imperial Mughal treasury (1739–1842)
These three historic necklaces originate from a mysterious royal collection. Silent witnesses to the ostentatious grandeur of the Sultans of Delhi, the Mughal emperors, and the Durrani dynasty, they encapsulate the aesthetic and political legacy of great Islamic empires. Although heritage rhetoric is often invoked, it is unlikely that the current Indian government will take formal steps to claim restitution of these patrimonial treasures.
What traces can still be deciphered from the engraved names of former sovereigns?
The sack of Delhi by Nader Shah in 1739 marked a symbolic, political, and material rupture in the history of imperial India. The Afsharid ruler seized a considerable hoard from the Mughal treasury - including the Peacock Throne, the diamonds Koh-i-Noor and Daria-i-Noor, engraved spinels, fine pearls, coins, and sculpted gems - each a material incarnation of sovereign power. This violent expropriation marked the end of a hegemonic aesthetic order and inaugurated a new phase of imperial treasure circulation, now uprooted from its original context.
Following the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747, his empire rapidly disintegrated. Ahmad Shah Abdali, a trusted cavalry commander in Nader’s service, was elected king by tribal chiefs in Kandahar and founded the Durrani Empire, adopting the title Durr-i-Durrān. Although no formal record confirms the exact means, he likely gained control of part of the Afsharid treasury through seizure or loyalty-based reward. Between 1748 and 1767, Ahmad Shah launched at least eight campaigns into northern India, capturing Lahore, entering Delhi twice, and delivering a crushing defeat to the Marathas at Panipat. These incursions both asserted his sovereignty and expanded a dynastic treasury comprised of Mughal spoils, commercial gems, engraved relics, and battlefield plunder.
In the early nineteenth century, this legacy was inherited by Shah Shuja Durrani (r. 1803–1809, 1839–1842), who was briefly restored to power with British support during the First Anglo-Afghan War. While exiled in Ludhiana, in British-controlled Punjab, he is believed to have relinquished parts of the Durrani treasury in exchange for political alliances, notably with Maharaja Ranjit Singh and British officials. Upon his return to Kabul in 1839, Shah Shuja was assassinated three years later amid widespread revolt. The remaining treasures under his control were reportedly seized, dispersed, or used as diplomatic gifts. Some British officers, including Lord Auckland, Sir William Macnaghten, and Sir John Keane, have been cited in contemporary or later accounts as possible recipients of these items, whether as official gifts, private acquisitions, or war trophies.
Thus emerges a trajectory of progressive dispossession, articulated in five phases: from Muhammad Shah (Mughal) to Nader Shah (Persian), Ahmad Shah Durrani (Afghan), Shah Shuja (Afghan), and finally the British Empire. This chain of transmission reflects not only shifts in sovereignty but also a transformation in the legal and symbolic status of the treasure, from dynastic regalia to diplomatic, military, and museum-bound objects of desire.
Among these, engraved gems such as the 470-carat emerald bearing the name of Ahmad Shah stand as enduring testaments to this imperial circulation.
Next: Dreaming India (II): Mughal influences and engraved stones in Art Deco
Read more :
Manuel Keene with Salam Kaoukji, Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals, al- Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait National museum with Thames & Hudson, 2006
William Dalrymple, Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, Bloomsbury, 2013
Ludwig W. Adamec, Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan, Scarecrow Press, 2012.
Capucine Juncker, Diamonds of Golconda, Skira, 2024
