Gifts of Grandeur: The Madras Necklace, 1850

Made in India around 1850, we see a gold pendant set with rubies, diamonds and other precious stones on a sliding gold chain. The pendant can also be worn as a brooch. Though the necklace shows obvious European influence in it style, it is clearly an Indian creation with its thicker gold work and distinctively Eastern design.


The piece was acquired by the Victoria & Albert Museum from an exhibition in 1855 by the Indian Museum which had been formed by the East India Company in the early Nineteenth century.