Mysore Collection

The last Maharajah of Mysore, a patron of the arts as most kings were, did a lot to promote the intriguing craft of ivory inlay on rosewood. The timber, once available in abundance locally, easily lent itself to intricate designs and motifs carved out and embedded with ivory. Nowadays, rosewood, because of its price, is used sparingly and ivory has been replaced by acrylic. The art too has evolved and is rendered by master craftsmen in a combination of woods and is referred to simply as 'Mysore Marquetry'. Stories from the great Epics ; Gods and Goddesses ; minutely detailed floral friezes ; geometric designs ; scenes from major festivals, country life, and customary Royal hunts all find their place in articles of wood, inlaid with the remarkable precision that comes from years and years of practice ---- a honing of skills possible only if the commitment to one's calling, one's art, is unwavering. Our new offering, the Mysore Collection, is an amalgam of this exquisite craft and our skills in goldsmithery. When the art of Mysore and Calcutta combine without trying to outdo each other but instead create a new tradition ---- one where gold complements wood and the inlaid patterns open up to be enriched with precious metal decorations ---- history is preserved yet restated, embellished with the beauty of a copacetic commingling of cultures. The ornaments are small but no less monumental. Pendants, strung with artisanal glass beads, and matched earrings declare the arrival of the best in marquetry and the innovative and lightest in gold in a splendid combination that is as much a bow to tradition as it is a fiercely modern and innovative spin on it. And why not? If our rich traditions can be reinterpreted as universally beautiful fine jewellery, all the more reason for us to proudly display that on us, don't you think. Enough said. What's left is to show you our work and have you judge it for its merit as a fusion of art forms, a congregation of cultures, and an enduring symbol of tradition reinvented. And so, we present to you our Mysore Collection of marquetry- and-gold jewels, for your pleasure.