Courtesy Legion of Honor
Exhibition co-curator Martin Chapman selected 10 items from the show. Scroll through to read about some of the jewels on display.
Courtesy Legion of Honor
Martin Chapman calls this necklace "a tour de force of Indian princely jewelry," designed to express the power and wealth of its owner. The piece's eight large diamonds, each weighing between 10 to 15 carats, are modified brilliant cuts. The cuts represent an advance in gem-faceting technology in India. The symmetrical arrangement of the gems and the central pendant reveal Western influences.
Courtesy Legion of Honor
This 20th century necklace was created in France in 1937 for Maharaja Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar, making the most of a remarkable collection of Burmese rubies amassed by his predecessor, who was a friend of the legendary jeweler Jacques Cartier. Following Indian independence in 1947, Cartier bought the piece and altered the original design to better suit a woman. It was subsequently bought and worn by Mrs. Loel Guinness at Truman Capote's Black and White Ball in 1966.
Courtesy Legion of Honor
This rare pendant, made in India, was inspired by European Renaissance jewelry, where baroque pearls were used as the torso for figurative compositions depicting mythical creatures, according to the exhibition's catalog. Accompanying the pearl are gems used in the typical Indian "kundan" setting -- a combination of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, along with gold and glass. The figure itself is likely to be a snake god, or Nagadevata.
Courtesy Legion of Honor
"Mughal emperors originally wore turban ornaments known as 'sarpechs' to show off dazzling large gemstones, while egret feathers also signaled their rank as an emblem of authority," said Chapman. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Indian Maharajas started to patronize European jewelry houses, including Cartier and Boucheron, to celebrate their vast collection of stones. Here the border of brilliant-cut diamonds and a substantial emerald echo European jewelry designs as the gems are not encased in closed settings that were typical of Indian jewelry.
Courtesy Legion of Honor
At 17th-century Indian courts, rosewater was sprinkled over guests as a sign of hospitality or at the close of a meal, according to Chapman. Great court gatherings -- or "durbars" -- also allowed the Mughal court to parade treasures and ceremonial objects from (its) imperial workshops, such as boxes for paan or this stunning gem-encrusted sprinkler bottle. An inscription in Persian on its base suggests that it was a treasury object.
Laziz Hamani
This 1937 turban ornament with a 61-carat golden diamond was influenced by Art Deco. The piece reflects the creative dynamic between European jewelry houses and Indian princes. The large diamond could be removed from its mount so that the maharajah could handle it.
Courtesy Legion of Honor
Pen cases and inkwells were symbols of the highest distinction and would be worn by high-ranking courtiers in their sashes. According to Chapman, this set perfectly reflects the hybrid culture of the Mughal court, as its design is a Persian shape but its decoration includes a sacred bird called a "hamsa," a symbol of Sarasvati, a Hindu goddess of learning.
Courtesy Legion of Honor
Jade was very important to the Mughals and this dagger's hilt represents a high point of jade carving. "The unusual and distinctive boy's head, wearing a ruff around his neck, is clearly influenced by European sculpture, suggesting that the craftsman who carved it could have been European," said Chapman. The blade is inscribed with Shah Jahan's title as well as two symbols of kingship, namely an umbrella and a fish.
Courtesy Legion of Honor
Mughal jade was hugely-prized and this exquisite 17th-century jade bowl, featuring a wild goat or ibex head, was later inscribed with a poem in Chinese written by Emperor Qianlong. In it, he extols the virtue of the craftsmanship: "This cup comes from far-off lands where it was carefully carved and pierced by fine artisans."
San Francisco, California CNN  — 

In the 17th century, an exquisite dagger crafted from jade and inlaid with gold was created for Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal. Two centuries later, it had found its way into the private collection of Samuel Morse, the inventor of Morse code.

It’s now just one of 150 breathtaking artifacts borrowed from the private collection of Qatar’s ruling family for the exhibition, “East Meets West: Jewels of the Maharajas from The Al Thani Collection” at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor.

The Al Thani Collection comprises Indian art and jewels from the Mughal Empire through to the present. It was established by Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family. To bring the precious items together, he enlisted the help of Amin Jaffer, the international director of Asian art at Christie’s, who helped collect more than 400 pieces in just two years.

Courtesy Legion of Honor
Here the border of brilliant-cut diamonds and a substantial emerald echo European jewelry designs as the gems are not encased in closed settings that were typical of Indian jewelry.

The earliest pieces on display date back to 1526, when the Mughals – a Muslim dynasty with roots in Central Asia – invaded northern India and founded an Empire. By that time, Europeans had already established trading posts in India, and the Mughal emperors were fascinated by the technology they used to craft jewelry (in particular, techniques for cutting gemstones), as well as overseas treasures, such as emeralds from Colombia.

In return, Europeans were stunned by the wealth of the Mughals. The treasury of the emperor Jahangir, for example, was said to have included more than five million carats of uncut diamonds. A 16th-century Flemish gem trader, Jacques de Coutre, is said to have observed that Jahangir had more jewels than the monarchs of Europe combined.

Courtesy Legion of Honor
An Indian pendant inspired by European jewelry traditions.

The Mughals and the Europeans went on to forge close links, according to the exhibition’s co-curator, Martin Chapman.

“Western jewelers and goldsmiths worked at the Mughal courts, while the techniques and tastes of European jewelry houses continued to exercise great appeal among Indian princes,” he said.

What's behind our obsession with gems?

“In later years, it was to Europe that the maharajas flocked in order to reset gems in their treasuries, inspiring a fusion of Indian forms and tastes with Western settings that characterizes an apogee of 20th-century jewelry design.”

02:43 - Source: CNN
A handmade, floating hotel

Gender is also addressed in the exhibition, added Chapman, with almost all of the pieces made for – and worn by – men:

“We in the West seem to think that only women wear jewelry,” he said. “But it is the men in India, specifically the male rulers – Mughal emperors and maharajas – who turn our expectations on their heads with their extravagant and elaborate jewelry: bangles, bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings, as well as the most characteristic jewel, the turban ornament.”

Scroll through the gallery above for Martin Chapman’s selection of 10 items from the exhibition. “East Meets West: Jewels of the Maharajas from the Al Thani Collection” runs at the Legion of Honor until Feb. 24, 2019.