by a Rajasthani jeweller
Wedding bracelet
circa 1990s
Meant to colourfully enhance the countenance of one who is about to step beyond a certain youth into the realms of married life, this bracelet traditionally rests along a woman’s (or, in many unfortunate cases, a child’s) bare upper forearm. Its red-flamed tassel, chorded to finely-strung cotton and gilt threads, hangs at a length from which one’s fingers may easily tug and tighten the bracelet at will. Entirely hand-sewn and pieced together, its face of beads may either be gilt silver or (for those who may afford more) entirely gold, with this particular bracelet being that of the former style. The beads’ supportive orange-and-green weave connects to two thread-wrapped stems, ending by one end forming a thick loop through which the other end, headed with a ridged gilt bead, may be slipped and securely tussled. Still a contemporary design favoured among Indian women of nearly all castes, a wedding bracelet such as this is nonetheless worn by those with privilege and fortune. It is a piece whose vibrant heritage reverberates with all that was and is Mother India, though whose beauty cannot always be held or beheld by all of her children.
