ISLAMABAD: A two-day exhibition, befittingly entitled ‘The Nizam of Hyderabad Collection’, featuring exquisite pieces of jewellery opened at the Tanzara Gallery on Wednesday.

The show includes over a hundred pieces of jewellery including bangles, earrings, cocktail rings and bridal sets inspired by the jewels worn by kings and queens during the Mughal era. Most pieces are made in traditional kundan and polki, a form in which gold foil is used between the stones and its mount. Some pieces have been embellished with precious stones such as emerald, rubies and pearls.

Ahmad Haroon Khan is the man behind the idea of replicating the original jeweled treasures of the Mughals, Victorian royalty and the princely states of India. The jewellery has been made by craftsmen in Jodhpur and Udaipur in India. They are the descendants of the original craftsmen who crafted the jewellery for the royalty of the period.

A visitor to the exhibition, Michele Galopin, said: “The designs are delightful but I don’t wear jewellery that is so ornate. Although all the pieces are spectacular, one could only wear the bangles and bracelets as single signature pieces with western outfits. However, I do see Pakistani women wearing entire sets at weddings.”

Commenting on the prices, she said: “These are priced almost like designer costume jewellery which makes them expensive but not unaffordable.”

As the rising prices of gold have made it increasingly difficult for people to afford it, the dictates of fashion and tradition are giving rise to a range of substitutes.

Haroon’s jewellery is predominantly a silver alloy with some gold content to prevent it from tarnishing. The heavy ornate traditional designs make many of Ahmed Haroon Khan’s pieces look like the real thing. He goes a step further by using genuine stones – both precious and semi-precious — to create pieces that make the wearer feel like royalty.

On the opening day, Haroon said: “My wife and I were in India about 13 years ago where I saw women wearing this remarkable type of jewellery and I became enchanted with the idea of designing such jewels myself.”

He turned this fascination into his profession, and now designs jewellery, using diamond polki powder mixed in kundun to make breathtaking kundun polki pieces. He said: “Our work is in silver and our pieces are always immaculate. I refuse to accept them from my craftsmen if they aren’t absolutely identical to the design”

The reverse of all the kundan pieces were as ornate as the front with delicate floral patterns in the traditional red, white, green and blue colours of enamelwork. What stood out was the detail and intricacy of the enamelwork — meenakari — which is a highly specialised craft. Meenakari is the practice of decorating metal surfaces with powdered minerals, such as cobalt and copper.

This unique art form blossomed in India under Shah Jahan and to date Jaipur, Rajasthan, and Mewar continue to produce the most exquisite works in meenakari.

Published in Dawn January 22nd , 2015

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