How Many Kilograms is your Head Jewelry?
Hers weighs about 13 kilograms. Yours? Enjoy more photos taken in 2011 in this small gallery of costumes of some groups of Ladakhis. *** jm Dec 24th 2020
There’s Gold Plated Hotels and then there’s Antique Gold….
WoW! Promotional messages in my mailbox rarely get opened. But when a Gold Plated Hotel came up I was curious. I could imagine only a few places on earth where … Continue reading
Book – Himalayan Treasures
It is nice to see a new book on a subject that is of interest. And it is even nicer to receive a mention in tje ‘Acknowledgements’ page! To be … Continue reading
Little Temples in Gold – Majapahit Gold Rings
Pramabanan Temples. On a visit in 2016 I did not do it justice to the experience. At many levels. Just one day at the heritage site. A visit scheduled during … Continue reading
Ceremonial Tibetan Dance at Dring Ri
A small video clip of a ritual dance at Dring Ri near Shigatse in Tibet. Note the headdress of the women: A similar old headdress with coral, turquoise unusual … Continue reading
Jewelry – Style of Ancient Gods
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco has a fabulous collection of ancient Buddhist & Hindu Temple statues. As I saw the various stone masterpieces, I could not help noticing … Continue reading
Old World Charm – Awadh Perfume Purse
Experiencing the romance of the old world of Awadh, India through a silver ornament no longer in use.
An Auction to Watch – Maharajahs & Mughal Magnificence at Christie’s
Described as “Living History in your hands” the jewels of Indian monarchs are from a different world! A watch-only auction for me… I am curious to find out how much … Continue reading
Confused About Classification! Silver or Silk?
In awe of an antique Benarasi Sari with real silver sari!
The Goldsmith’s Craft
In another life that I lived within this life I had a little venture called IQ Club. Had a lot of fun creating a brain-games-based workshop for kids. The parents … Continue reading
Wealth of Ladakh
Photos of photo prints of women wearing traditional jewelry at festivals. The magnificentv Petak headdress has been discussed earlier. But the others have not received enough attention! Here are sone … Continue reading
Wearing Art – Antique Himalayan Ceremonial Silver Belt
When everything the eye sees is artistic and pleasing, where art is an intrinsic part of every object, there must be undercurrents of joy constantly hitting the people… Maybe THAT … Continue reading
There’s No Limit to Creativity – Jewelry from Assam
Sharing the beautiful gemstone-studded traditional jewelry of Assam
The Jehangir Spinel
Owned and bequeathed by Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb this amazing Spinel is now in the Victoria & Albert museum in London. Surprisingly it has been described by the V&A … Continue reading
Art in Gold for a Goan Wedding
I cannot imagine how it is that the Goan found the time between cultivating their unbelievable rice, cooking and eating their amazing curries and enjoying the subsequent coma-like siestas that … Continue reading
The Weight of Commitment
The weight of this token of commitment is about 100grams. Of Gold. !!! In case you are underwhelmed … here is a similar piece displayed in the V & A … Continue reading
Connecting the Dots of Gold
In the past, gold jewelry with motifs created by arranging tiny granules of gold was popular in some parts of India. Ancient Greeks used the granulation process too but the … Continue reading
Blessing Containers in Silver
How many people have others praying for them? Am certain that I have fewer today than I had 50 years ago. And so as these blessings become rarer, I value … Continue reading
Wearing the Neck Rings – Cultural Tradition of the Karen Tribe
The process of putting the rings on the neck of girls from he Long Neck Karen Tribe
Old Tribal Beaded Hair Ornaments for a Child – Available for Sale
Handmade Beaded Hair ornaments for a child. How are these worn? These are fastened to the hair at the level of the eyes – somewhat like blinkers perhaps? Here is … Continue reading
Hair Ornaments from Asia
Just some photos! Lambani People Silver Braid Ends – that take at least an hour to fix! And help is needed from other women – mother-in-law or sister in law … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix – A Thousand Silent Bells
Heavy Silent Jhanjhar from Maharashtra, Early 1900s The latest addition to the Wovensouls collection Read more about Payal Traditions here. jm Oct 2015.
Daily Art Fix – Tribal Silver with Blue Green Enamel
from the wovensouls collection jm May 2015
Of Human Bondage – The Chains of Marriage
Marriage with its Emotional Bondage* that is Voluntary & Reciprocal can be a beautiful experience. In the Hindu tradition, this bondage is poignantly represented by the Gold Chain that … Continue reading
A Story in a Nose Ring
Four times I have had my nose pierced. In spite of the fact that it is long & hook shaped and has provided all its viewers with immense mirth – … Continue reading
A LADAKHI LADY DONS HER HEIRLOOM JEWELRY
On the way back from interior Himalayas in September last year, we stopped at a tiny village in Skyurbuchan that had the only restaurant along the way, for a late … Continue reading
Stunning Old Costume Photos from Tibet
A delightful find on Facebook – stunning old photos of Tibetan women wearing their extravagant headdresses and accessories! The headdress is used as a tool to attach false hair tied … Continue reading
And we thought ornaments were only for people? Traditional Animal Adornments
And we thought ornaments and clothing were only for humans? A few vintage & antique examples of traditional adornments for the beloved farm animals. 1. Large Necklaces for a pair … Continue reading
Mystical Gold Ornaments from the past
When I look at some of the ornaments from the past, they leave me awestruck! The art & craft within them is doubtlessly stunning. But beyond that, there is an … Continue reading
Costume & Jewelry Culture of the Dard Aryan People, Himalayas
It seems to me that all Himalayan cultures have spectacular costumes! One that stands out as distinct and unique is the Dard ethnic group in NorthWest India. Spread over a … Continue reading
A Large Heirloom Ladakhi Skeypuk Necklace
Made primarily of the much valued coral and the turquoise that is very popular in the region, This Skyepuk has a large Ghau amulet box encrusted with turquoise. A very … Continue reading
Turquoise Art – The Blue Veil of Ladakh
An unusual Museum Quality Perak headdress from the Purang / Burang region. Authentic heirloom peraks are extreme,y rare now and among Peraks Purang Peraks are the rarest to find. The … Continue reading
The Fantastic Skeypuk Jewelry of Himalayan Interiors
The mystery of how coral got to the Himalayas has many explanations yet the mind continues to meander into the past seeking confirmations. While the mind continues to thirst for … Continue reading
WOVENSOULS | Antique Jewelry | Tribal and Ethnic
This page showcases some of the old tribal and ethnic collectible jewelry from the Wovensouls Collection. The art and the symbolism contained in tribal pieces is breathtaking. JM AUG 2013
WOVENSOULS | Antique Jewelry | Himalayan and Tibetan
Showcased below are a few of the pieces from the Tibetan and Himalayan Gallery.
WOVENSOULS | Antique Jewelry | Silver
This page showcases some of the old silver collectible jewelry from the Wovensouls Collection. The diversity of style and form in silver is certain to please even the mature collector. … Continue reading
Pearls in Tibet’s past – The elaborate Headdresses of Tibetan Noblewomen
My first exposure to Tibet was in 2007 when I took my second solo trip. The trip through Tibet’s rural hinterland to the Everest base camp, through Xigatse and Gyantse … Continue reading
Discovering Pearls
The Pearl is not new to most of us. I got to know the pearl as a child, watching others wear them and through the many ‘plastic’ pearl chains acquired … Continue reading
Adornments beyond compare – Tribal Jewelry of Nagaland
Even though the young & the rich get allured into buying gems and jewelry by big brands that add very little value by stamping a brand name on it and … Continue reading
Choodi Waale Baaba – the Bangle Seller
Hindi was a compulsory language to be learned at school. And language is usually taught through written material – stories about this and that from every day life. Sometime in … Continue reading
Ankle Jewelry or Payal or Jhanjhar Traditions of Asia
All the assets in this article are a part of the WOVENSOULS collection and additional details of each asset may be viewed here on WovenSouls.com . Payal … a piece … Continue reading
WOVENSOULS SUMMER AUCTION ANNOUNCEMENT
The Summer Auction of timeless textile art, jewelry art and folk art will be conducted online-only on Artfact.com and is open for bidding until June 30th. The catalog may be … Continue reading
Tribal Life in Orissa – a tribute!
I was in Orissa in January and the month of May is about to end, and yet the tribal life that I experienced there remains unshared on this blog. … Continue reading
Wovensouls Website relaunched
The structure and layout of the wovensouls website has been changed to make the flow smoother. Recent acquisitions of antique textiles, antique jewelry and antique folk art, some of these … Continue reading
Recent additions to the antique jewelry collection
Exquisite heirloom pieces just added! 1. Antique turquoise necklace with large Ghau (with compartment) 2. Antique heirloom Naga necklace with shell, bone and glass beads 3. Antique Tuareg (African Sahara) … Continue reading
Tribal Textile Art of Kutch – the Bhuj Folk Art Museum
A self explanatory photo-essay showcasing the mirrorwork & embroidery of various tribes in the Kutch region of Gujarat India. But first an introduction to the two lovely ladies from the … Continue reading
The Blacksmith Gadaliya Tribe of Rajasthan & Gujarat
One of the many tribes I met in Rajasthan – the Gadaliyas – the Blacksmiths. I have posted some images and an informed article by another blogger on nomadic tribe … Continue reading
The Chapchar Kut Harvest Festival of Mizoram
A glimpse of the Chapchar Kut Harvest festival held at Aizawl in March 2012. The Chapchar Kut is the Harvest festival of Mizoram and celebrated across the hills in March … Continue reading
Tribal Textile and Bead Art of Nagaland
This photoessay is preceded by the article that appears on Jozan.net titled “Red, White and Black – Tribal Textiles of Nagaland” available here. Images will say it better than words … Continue reading
The Lambani Gypsy Tribe
It is my good fortune to have spent a lot of time with the members of this tribe, and to have the opportunity to explore their memes or their psychological … Continue reading
