October 2009 Volume 7 Issue 3
October 2009 Volume 7 Sandesh Sandesh Issue 3 “The Message” A Newsletter from IndUS of Fox Valley From Editors’ Desk A Brief History of India’s Jewelry Heritage By Joe Elder Dear Readers, As in the previous years this issue Jewelry in the Indus Valley Civilization Descriptions of Jewelry in Classical of Sandesh is dedicated to the Archaeologists excavating Indus-Valley- Texts annual IndUS banquet theme. This civilization sites in contemporary India and The Buddhist Dhammapada described a year‘s theme is: ―The Glorious Pakistan have unearthed large quantities of court woman‘s robe on which was woven a Tradition of Indian Textiles & beads made from shells, glazed peacock with its eyes, neck, and tail Jewelry‖. In this issue, you will earthenware, pottery, soap-stone, agate, feathers made of pearls, its beak made of find articles that describe the role amethyst, carnelian, green feldspar, jasper, coral, and its feathers made of red gold that jewelry and textiles have turquoise, and onyx. Craftpersons living with midribs of silver. According to the played in shaping of India. These thousands of years ago had strung together Dhammapada, five-hundred goldsmiths articles portray the fabric of India some of these beads to form necklaces, worked four months to complete the robe. as colorful, strong and woven over bracelets, and girdles. The skills of those In the Tamil epic poem, the centuries. It has patterns craftpersons were reflected in the variety of Cilappatikaram (―The Jeweled Anklet‖), crisscrossing politics, struggle for the beads‘ shapes and sizes. Archaeologists the crime of a king who executed an freedom, religion and culture.
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