Historic Collection of Indian Jewels Goes on Sale

RAPAPORT… A collection of jewels detailing the story of Indian
diamonds over six centuries is set to go on sale for the first time.

Approximately 35 pieces belonging to diamond dealer
Benjamin Zucker will feature in an exhibition at Les Enluminures in New York,
the gallery said Thursday. Many of the jewels have previously appeared at the
Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in
New Haven, Connecticut, the Houston Museum of Art, and New York’s Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

“Put together over more than 45 years, this hugely rare and
immensely valuable collection…tells the story of the Indian diamond over a
period of nearly 600 years, ending before the discovery of mines in Brazil, a
source that displaced India and inaugurated a new age of diamonds,” Les
Enluminures explained.

The sale follows a record-breaking auction of Indian jewels by Christie’s. In June, the Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence sale, featuring a collection of jewelry and other valuable items spanning more than 500 years, garnered $109 million, the highest total
for any auction containing Indian art.

The sale will take place from October 24 to November 9.

Image: The ring of Sultan Muhammad of Ghor, which will feature in the sale. (Les Enluminures)