Indian Folk Jewellery (Designs and Techniques)

This book outlines the use of folk jewellery in India, beginning with the typical jewellery of brides in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, followed by the various types of ornaments commonly worn by Indian women from head to toe, including an article about the representation of snakes in Indian jewellery. The colourful specific ornaments of the twelve main jewellery-using states are described individually and in detail; a last chapter deals with the symbolism and importance of amulets.

Providing a vivid impression of the skills and aesthetic sensibility of the Indian goldsmiths, a special chapter about the unique Indian techniques like kundan, thewa, gem inlay in jade, moulding and meenakari is most enlightening also for designers and jewellers.

This book is of great benefit for the jewellery lover and collector as well as for the designer and jewellery dealer by answering many frequently asked questions and showing more than 370 marvellous colour illustrations of ornaments and persons.

Waltraud Ganguly is a native German with a doctor's degree in medicine. She is married to an Indian with whom she has been exploring the Indian continent since over forty years. Her fascination for the symbol-loaded designs and the special techniques of Indian folk jewellery made her write the present book as a guide to the typical Indian ornaments which are vanishing very fast from the common use under the economic, social and ideological changes of the last twenty years. By her documentation the author wants to preserve the memory of India's artistic past and the crafts that created these works of art for the benefit of future generations.