Pair of Armlets (Bazubands)
maker
Unknown
Date19th century
Place MadeJaipur, Assam, India, South Asia
MediumGold on a lac core, with precious and semi-precious stones, enamel decoration, and cords of silk and gold with seed pearls
Dimensions22.7 cm (8 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsJewelry
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberM18w73.1-2
eMuseum ID724453
EmbARK ObjectID15651
TMS Source ID4193
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb Commentary
These armlets include “nine sacred gems,” referencing the navaratna tradition of Indian jewelry, with each gem corresponding to the nine celestial objects, which in turn provide talismanic qualities to the wearer.
Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased these armlets from an antiques dealer in Calcutta, India, in 1884. They were purportedly owned by Zinat Mahal, the favorite wife of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, who was sent into exile after the failed Indian Mutiny (also called the Great Uprising) of 1857, whereby governing authority fully shifted to British Crown rule. The armlets were taken from King’s palace in Delhi during the time of the Mutiny by British soldiers. This problematic provenance did not trouble Gardner, who—though interested in the pre-colonial experience of people living on the subcontinent—did not seem to grasp the violence that had removed the armbands from their original owner.
BibliographyNotesHilliard Goldfarb and Susan Sinclair. Isabella Stewart Gardner: Woman and the Myth. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1994), p. 36, no. 14 (as Indian, Mughal Period; dated 1526-1857).
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 312, 458-59, fig. 1. (as 19th century)
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 312, 458-59, fig. 1. (as 19th century)
Pujan Gandhi. "Isabella Stewart Gardner's travel Albums through India" in Diana Seave Greenwald and Casey Riley (ed.). Fellow Wanderer: Isabella Stewart Gardner's Travel Albums. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2023), pp.103-104 fig. 8.
Pujan Gandhi, "Isabella Stewart Gardner's Travels in India," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 20 February 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/isabella-stewart-gardners-travels-india
ProvenanceNotesPossibly in the collection of the Mughal emperor Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862) until September 1857.
Possibly purchased by a British officer from an auction by British army prize agent Colonel Innes, about 1857.
Purchased by the jeweler and antique dealer Alexander M. Jacob (Iskandar Meliki bin Ya’qub al Birri, 1849–1921), Calcutta from the widow of the British officer, about 1879.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner and her husband John L. Gardner, Jr. (1837-1898) from Alexander M. Jacob, Calcutta for $750 on 31 January 1884. (as formerly in the collection of Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862), with subsequent possession by British army personnel)
Possibly purchased by a British officer from an auction by British army prize agent Colonel Innes, about 1857.
Purchased by the jeweler and antique dealer Alexander M. Jacob (Iskandar Meliki bin Ya’qub al Birri, 1849–1921), Calcutta from the widow of the British officer, about 1879.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner and her husband John L. Gardner, Jr. (1837-1898) from Alexander M. Jacob, Calcutta for $750 on 31 January 1884. (as formerly in the collection of Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862), with subsequent possession by British army personnel)
