THE VAN GELDER JEWELLERY
HERITAGE COLLECTION
For over 40 years Van Gelder Jewellery has been on a quest to discover, understand and collect the most extraordinary quality of traditional jewellery from India.
Noëlle: “All the pieces we offer in our Heritage Collection are selected using the highest standards of quality, rarity, condition and provenance, ensuring the best possible value for our clients. Growing and perfecting this unrivalled historical collection is our life’s work and a continuous process. Frequent and extensive travels to India, as well as ongoing research allow us to continuously add new highlights to ourHeritage collection and to further expand our knowledge and expertise in this area.”
Fleur: “We are extremely proud of our thorough knowledge of the history and decorative art of India, of the use of materials and techniques, as well as our extensive network of personal relations in the Indian sub-continent and beyond. It is what makes us a different class of expert in Indian Jewellery.”
The Golden Smile of India is a vast and detailed publication covering the rich heritage of Indian jewellery and its significance in past and present Indian society. Jewellery plays an important part in the everyday lives, important moments, festivals and religious aspects of Indian culture. It is not only girls and women who wear jewellery, but also boys, men, temple statues and even animals. The book excels in its detailed descriptions, which accompany the sumptuous array of images. We discover why enamel is used in the north of India, the origin and significance of gold, the significance of setting gems in a certain order, and jewellery's spiritual importance. The book covers in detail the meaning of the use of flowers and birds in Hindu influenced jewellery, looking through the eyes of 17th century European travellers who visited the rich Mogul courts. This publication is the result of 35 years of research - travelling, studying, and talking to many people across the entire subcontinent of India, as well as having had unprecedented access to goldsmiths and enamellers; being shown techniques known only to one family, which have been transferred from generation to generation; and being granted access to beautiful and never before seen Royal collections.
