Much of Miss Beningson's collection beautifully wrought anklets, earrings, necklaces, jeweled crowns--comes from south India. It was here that the Indian jewelers' technical expertise developed in the great gem-trading centers, under the patronage of the great
.	Kundan Bangles is the Mughal-inspired art of setting stones in gold and silver Kundan is the Mughal-inspired art of setting stones in gold and silver	Kundan Mughal Indian Jewelry Necklace	Indian Jewelry Necklace

rulers (whose state-owned jewels would adorn their whole households including the servants) and, importantly, the great temples. Adriana Proser, curator of traditional Asian art at the Asia Society, explained: 'These are not just baubles, not just fine works of craftsmanship. They held important significance in society. The highest honor for a devotee was to give jewelry to dress the deity.'

An there is Kundan the Mughal inspired Indian Jewelry Art of India, setting stones in gold and silver as you can see in this enamel bangles and the other Indian Jewelry just below they are simply beautiful. To that end, hundreds of jewelers were permanently employed by temples. The Brihadishvara Temple in Thanjavur, for example, built by the powerful Chola ruler Rajaraja I, has eleventh century inscriptions carved on the walls detailing the gem experts' many classifications for pearls, diamonds and rubies. When the jewel filled treasuries became goals for northern invaders, the temples added fort-like walls, most notably around the hugely wealthy Ranganatha Temple at Sringangam. India Jewelry ear rings. Even today, fine jewelry continues to be commissioned for the gods and, as Molly Emma Aitken explains in her excellent catalogue essay, 'wealthy devotees pay to obtain a private viewing of a deity in his or her richest jewelry'. As if to reinforce the importance of jewelry in Indian society, a second exhibition at Asia House displays Indian miniature paintings from the Poisky collection. There is jewelry and sometimes very interesting Indian turquoise creations: a god is weighed down with gem-encrusted jewels, lovers discard their clothes but not their jewelry, a pet blackbuck is draped with three necklaces with turquoise while he poses stiffly for his portrait.

Indian Jewelry Turquoise Bracelet

The same arguments cannot be made for American jewelry. But Judith Price, founder and President of the National Jewelry Institute, has put together a remarkable show that surprises and impresses, 'Masterpieces of American Jewelry'. Hosted by the American Folk Art Museum (and, by Somerset House in London), it claims to be the first museum show devoted entirely to American jewelry. The two hundred exhibits were all made and distributed in America between the late eighteenth century and the 1980s. As such, it presents an opportunity to define just what makes American jewelry distinct.

Ms Price, no stranger to India's complex jewelry tradition, has her own no-nonsense theories. 'Simplicity and a sense of humour. Do you know the American trade code "kiss"? It stands for "keep it simple stupid". So, we often use semi-precious stones for serious jewelry.' She illustrates her point with piece made in the 1940s for the considerable jewelry collectors Mr. and Mrs. Cole Porter. 'Look at the way Paul Flare uses aquamarines and rubies to make a belt shaped necklace. Sheer simplicity, humor, and not even a diamond!'

Interestingly, about half of the 25 lenders are men. 'These are major collectors with Picassos on their wails and jewelry in their vaults', explains Ms Price. To encourage visitors to take the same serious approach, the pieces are displayed in low lit cabinets to give each one the status of a work of art.

Ralph Esmerian, the jewelry show's curator,

has grouped the pieces by theme. This reveals two additional characteristics: quality craftsmanship and gentle sentiment. Both are evident in an 1877 Tiffany gold classic revival bracelet exhibited at the Paris World's Fair and in Cartier's exclusive New York designs, such as a 1927 brooch shaped as if the American flag had been tied into a bow tie. They are in the delicate orchid brooches made by J.E. Caldwell, Marcus & Co., and Tiffany & Co. New York to celebrate America's natural splendor. They are in Van Cleef & Arpels' diamond-encrusted ballerina brooches of the 1940s--Claude Arpels was a close friend of George Balanchine; in the Walt Disney-influenced work of Raymond C. Yard collected by Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and DuPonts; and, more recently, in Joel Arthur Rosenthal's 1987 blue butterfly using indigenous Montana sapphires.

Postscript: Those wanting to confirm their thoughts on American jewelry should slip out of the American Folk Museum's tomb-like home designed by the New York team of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and cross the road into the Museum of Art and Design to see the innovative creations of Seaman Schepps, the Park Avenue jeweler whose clients ranged from Doris Duke to Andy Warhol.

Author Louise Nicholson COPYRIGHT Apollo Magazine Ltd.  COPYRIGHT Gale Group