Jewellery Born Of The Earth
Jewellery, ornaments and accessories have made their hallmark in the fashion industry, so much so that there exist special courses and institutes that groom aspirants to become jewellery designers.
Yes, it is true that wearing accessories and decking oneself up is not just a matter of modern tastes but existed for long. Ornaments have been found in excavations of the sites at Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Valley Civilization.
Even instances from Indian epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana and tales of ancient kings around the world describe the royal and rich ornaments they adorned themselves with. Some pieces of priceless jewellery are considered ancestral property and are passed through generations even to date as a blessing.
With such history, it is only understandable that jewellery takes up a prominent place in fashion. As in the case of clothing and other styles, modern day ornamental fashion is also taking a glimpse back into the past with chunky pieces of tribal jewellery adding their statement to an outfit.
What is Tribal Jewellery?
Tribes across India, for ages now, kept making some really artistic and bold pieces of jewellery ranging from neckpieces, earrings, bracelets and bangles to anklets and maang-tikas. Due to lack of complex tools, they often resorted to more easily available natural resources such as leaves, stones, shells, wood, bones and some accessible metals.
They would beat and carve out designs to give the accessories some shape and form. Reading through history and societal divisions, it can be said that jewellery for various tribes is a mark of status and identification to a region. For example, in Nagaland in northeast India, each tribe has a distinctive headgear.
It can still be observed that various tribes use different kinds of stones and metals and carve them different from each other. For example, the Lambada tribes of Rajasthan adorn themselves with ornaments made out of heavy metal and opt for more bold designs. On the other hand, the tribes of Sikkim and regions in and around make use of unique stones such as corals, turquoise stones, etc. that are easily available there.
Modern Day Tribal Jewellery
As mentioned earlier, the styles of these tribes are now loved by fashion connoisseurs across the world who find it very aesthetic to pair some statement and bold pieces of jewellery with formal, informal and ethnic clothing.
This neckpiece is one such, straight from our tribal collection. It has multiple layers of golden coloured beads tightly wound together creating a visual appeal. These are then balanced by adding a very strong, round pendant, again golden in colour, made by wrapping a thread around. Craftsmanship here can be seen in how neatly and artfully each bead and each thread is bound to the other. Artistic yet very chic and elegant, this piece of jewellery is a must-have in every fashion lovers’ collection.
Go trendy and use this to spice up a pair of regular jeans and a plain shirt or keep it classic and pair it with a saree or salwar kameez.
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