AN INDIAN SHAIVA PARCEL-GILT SILVER GIRDLE (KAMARPATTI OR KANDORA)
Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh, Central India, early 20th century

The belt buckle made of three independent sections linked together with silver pins with arrow-shaped terminals, the central section characterised by a dodecahedron bead with a parcel-gilt square plaque in the middle, flanked by several concentric rings on each side, some with fine coils and others with larger spheres, the linking hoops embellished with applied stylised gilt rosettes, the next sections made of cast silver chevron bands and followed by parcel-gilt plaques with Lord Shiva's bull Nandi and a decorative panel with foliate and chequered motifs, the overimposed triple belt chains braided with silver wire and held together with rosette roundels.

34.5cm wide (when closed)

527gr.

In rural India, jewellery and personal adornments were mostly silver. The price of this metal has always been below that of gold, making it affordable for those with circumscribed means. And yet, the more silver one could acquire, the higher status they would achieve in a rural context. Silver jewellery was never or very seldom worn by urban Indians, who preferred gold. Given the association of this material with a rural context, it should not surprise that Indian silver jewellery and adornments are characterised by robust forms and chunky decorative details, often functional in construction due to their need to withstand rough daily use. This kamarpatti is a remarkable example of this tradition. With a central buckle unit with linking hoops on either ends, which can be extended or shortened as necessary, and soft silver chains at the back, this girdle would have been worn through the 'thick and thin' of its owner, most probably a Shaiva devotee given the presence of two plaques with Nandi the Bull, Shiva's vahana.

For an almost identical example: Oppi Untracht, 'India: a rural silver jewellery odyssey' in René van der Star, Ethnic Jewellery from Africa, Asia and Pacific Islands, 2008, p. 147. For further published comparables: Anne Leurquin, Ceintures ethniques d'Afrique, d'Asie, d'Océanie, ed d'Amérique de la collection Ghysels, 2004, p. 144; and Waltraud Ganguly, Indian Folk Jewellery: Designs and Techniques, 2015, p. 65.