'Behind the Scenes': The Ancient Splendor Collection

(To the left: Joie de Vivre - antique 20K-22K jeweled mughul pendant in the shape of a 'dancing' peacock with feathers of carved ruby or spinel, a head of uncut diamonds and the body a large faceted emerald)

I describe my work as the light-hearted result of superb gems, striking color combinations and the warmth of high carat gold. However, my primary design inspiration comes from the gold-enriched splendor of ancient civilizations as well as more recent ones like Mughal India.

It’s this love of history that inspired my Ancient Splendor Collection. Working with antique 20K-22K Indian plaque amulets and jeweled Mughal pieces, I pairs each exceptional 'link to the past' with a variety of high quality gems. The result? An eclectic blend of opposites described by some as ethno contemporary, traditional Indian motifs presented with a unique, modern twist.

“Most obviously, Indian adornment is a form of beautification. But it also functions symbolically as a vital repository of shared meaning, a metaphorical language communicated from the wearer to the viewer that speaks of spiritual protection, prosperity, respect and social definition. Therefore each piece arouses my curiosity about the person for whom it was originally made and the history they lived. By the time I work with the pendants they’ve become so separated from their original context that the stories about what they meant to their wearers or said about them are long lost. So I like to think that each of my finished pieces begins to create a new story of meaning.”

Pavo Cristatus, Monsoon Maker

Since one of my Elle Schroeder Collections, Ancient Splendor, features 20K-22K antique Indian plaque amulet pendants and Mughul jeweled pieces, I’m always curious to know the significance of what I’m working, both for my benefit and that of my customers. One recurring theme in Indian pieces is perhaps the most beautiful bird on earth, pavo cristatus -- or, as we know it, the male half of the peafowl, the peacock.

Called "the bird with one hundred eyes" due to the eye-like patterns on its tail, the peacock is the national bird of India. The Peacock Dance, sometimes called the Monsoon Dance, plays an important role in the Indian ethos. Believed to be a harbinger of the approaching monsoon and hence, fertility, at the sight of dark clouds the bird spreads out its tail and starts dancing in rhythmic fashion, strutting and displaying its feathers in an impressive fashion as if welcoming the gathering of clouds at the end of the summer (although he’s just trying to attract a mate). And for Indians, at the height of their sweltering hot season, there can be no greater joy than the beginning of the rainy season.  

Its scientific name, pavo, derives from the Sanskrit, “pavana,” referring to the Hindu deity Vayu, the wind who is also the breath of life and the father of Hanuman. The peacock is the vahana (vehicle) of Kartikkeya, the god of war; Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, music and the arts also rides a peacock in the entourage of the Goddess Durga. Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, fortune, love and beauty, is also sometimes depicted with armbands in the form of peacocks.

Pearl Knotting and the Art of Being Present

Good pearls need to be knotted. With a surface hardness of only 2.5 - 4 on the Mohs Scale, having an appropriately sized tight knot between pearls keeps their fragile surface of nacre from wearing. The knot should be just big enough to create the space but small enough to be unobtrusive.

I do not like knotting pearls. Why? Because every knot is a potential problem. If, in the process of trying to tighten a knot against a pearl the cord slips off the knotting tool -- leaving a tight knot with space between it and the pearl -- there is no “undo.”

There is only start over.

And at what point in the process is this most likely to occur? Toward the end, of course -- because the motions have become routine. My mind wanders. 

I have ceased to be present.

So each knotting session becomes a lesson in being present, one I have ample opportunity to practice over and over.

The above is an example of a piece in my Ancient Splendor Collection that I redid 6 times. It’s an antique Mughul pendant with table-cut diamonds and red spinel cabochons that make up a seated Ganesha – on very lustrous cultured baroque pearls accented with 

18K meenakari* beads. The back of the pendant also displays meenakari work.

*Meenakari is the Indian art of fine enameling. Because a shallow layer of high-carat gold was used in Mughul pieces, and is therefore soft, the back of pieces were enameled to prevent the gold from wearing off on the wearer’s skin.