| India,
the 'Golden Country', has since time immemorial, lured those in quest of
spices, gold and precious gems. The principle trade routes across land
and sea in the ancient world all led to India. As a repository of what
was once the greatest concentration of mineral wealth on earth, this
treasury of the world earned the epithet Sone ki chidia or 'bird of
gold'.
Spanning 5000 years of this glorious legacy,
Dance of the Peacock takes an ethnographic approach, weaving factual
information with the many fascinating stories recounted by ancient
travellers to India. The book pays homage to the aesthetics of the
patron and the virtuosity of the craftsman. Above all, Dance
of the Peacock celebrates the human
impulse to adorn.
"Providing a spectacular visual panorama
are the over 500 Colour plates,
each item of jewellery meticulously photographed to set off its every
technical and aesthetic nuance. Accessing collections that have never
been documented before the book showcases some of the most outstanding
examples of Indian jewellery from all over the world. |
