AUCTION OF FINE JEWELS | ONLINE (15-16 OCTOBER 2019)

maang tika

is a forehead ornament worn where the hair is parted (

maang

), hanging

down till the centre of the forehead. It is traditionally considered an essential part of a

woman’s ornamentation, and is one of the adornments that is, in some parts of the country,

an auspicious symbol of marital felicity.

Maang tikas

are typically made of a precious metal

and have a face set with gemstones, often with intricate enamelling on the reverse. They were

prominently depicted in miniature paintings, and in the Mughal period, they were often made

of pearls. Italian writer and traveller Niccolao Manucci, who wrote a memoir about the Indian

subcontinent during the Mughal era, described them as, “Upon the middle of the head is a

bunch of pearls… with a valuable ornament of costly stones formed into the shape of the sun,

or moon, or some star, or at times imitating different flowers. This suits them exceedingly

well.” (Quoted in “Women’s Jewelry in Aurangzeb’s Court,” Oppi Untracht,

Traditional Jewelry

of India

, London: Thames and Hudson, 1997, p. 347)

GEMSET

MAANG TIKA

OR FOREHEAD

ORNAMENT

Comprising

polki

diamonds set in a crescent with a

ruby cabochon on top, suspending a fringe of pearls

and green beads. The reverse is engraved in foliate

motifs. Accompanied by a string of pearls on top as

support.

Gross weight: 12.31 grams

$ 6,075 ‒ 8,930

Rs 4,25,000 ‒ 6,25,000