The concept of gorgeous temple jewelry that has flooded the fashion world has its origins in the jewelry that was once offered to temple deities. The artwork on these ornaments draw heavily from the architecture, sculptures and the carvings on temple pillars and doors. This makes the traditional jewelry a treasure troves of stories that speak of Indiaβs rich cultural heritage.
The History and Evolution of Temple Jewelry
The Temple jewelry has come into existence from somewhere around the 9th Century during the reign of Chola Dynasty, the exquisiteness and intricacy of which is valued till date. The Chola rulers considered cultural development as extremely important and encouraged the making of Temple Jewelry a lot. Most of the temple jewelry is similar to the designs of South Indian temple walls. With time Indian jewelry has developed into an art and the artwork of Indian jewelry is categorized into three categories- Spiritual Indian Jeweler, Bridal Indian Jewelry and Temple Indian Jewelry. Temple jewelry is said to be like the type which is adorned by the idol of deities in temples hence the name is given.
What is Temple Jewelry?
Temple Jewelry is an Ethnic Jewelry which is designed in various forms of Gods and Goddesses. Originally, it was made with gold embedded with different types of precious stones and gems. Precious stones like, Rubies, Diamonds, Kundan, Pearls, Polkas, Meenakari and Kemp. It is one of the Indiaβs crafted treasures and originally made of finest gold. It is mainly worn by South Indians on major festivals and occasions like marriage. It is crafted by skilled jewelers and craftsmen.
The True Beauty of Temple Jewelry
The uniqueness of this jewelry is that it is made of pure gold and includes crowns or other head ornaments, earrings, nose ornaments, necklaces, bangles, waist-belt, anklets among other items. Jewelry of this kind is used by women to add a touch of glamour and creativity whether it’s part of their day to day look or something more special. In its most basic form, this type of jewelry is made from gold or silver, without any gemstones or diamonds. The defining characteristic of temple jewelry is that each piece is handcrafted to perfection. It is said that a south Indian bride isnβt completely dressed until she adds a piece of temple jewelry to her look. Even It is said that a south Indian bride isnβt completely dressed until she adds a prized piece of temple jewelry to her look. Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, opted for exquisitely crafted heritage pieces for her Konkani wedding ceremony last year. Embossed with depictions of gods and goddesses from the temples in south India, these simple-yet-artful pieces of work are sculpted from gold and silver. Available as necklaces, bangles, earrings, rings, chokers and kamar-bandhs, the contemporary update to this jewelry style now includes gemstones, diamonds and filigree work.
The Making of Temple Jewelry
The craftsmen usually take inspiration from the sculptures, illustrations and carvings at the temples of South India which are extremely intricate, and make gorgeous additions to these pieces. The process starts with making dyes and molds of motifs like temple tops, God idols, leaves and so on. Gold and silver billets are rolled into flatter pieces, and then cut into strips and bent into the desired shape to make the mold. Gold foils, beaten metal and molten gold or dye is used to fill in the mold, depending on the specifications of the final piece. A lot of basic temple jewelry uses silver as the base, which is then coated with a gold foil. Once set, the pieces are sent for soldering and then finished with a layer of polish to keep the luster of the piece intact. As easy as this sounds, the craft that goes into making temple jewelry is very intricate and requires immense focus and a delicate hand.
Where Temple Jewelry is seen?
Most of the real temple jewelry is crafted in Tamil Nadu, called Nagercoil and as it is so intricate and unique and requires a certain finesse in its making, it may take up to a year sometimes to complete and deliver. It is priceless and considered a valuable investment and it has a lot of significance in the lifestyles of women in South India. Initially it was made of gold and silver but now there are economic alternatives where coated silver jewelry studded with average gems are now considered. Temple Jewelry has always been sold by ancient families or retired dancers and is also expensive as it is also used by classical dancers.
In The End
It was all about Temple jewelry that is perfect to go with your favorite traditional look from Navrathanβs Special Temple Jewelry Collections. Here at Navrathan we have a wide and unique range of Temple jewelry collections like necklaces, bangles, chokers and kamarbandhs.
So are you ready to buy a new set of traditional temple jewelry? Then click on the link and visit our exclusive collections and explore more!
