Men in pearls--go for it.

Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala 
Delhi, c. 1911

Today when kings, actors and billionaires want to dress to show off their riches and power their means are restricted to a bespoke suit and topcoat; handmade shoes and shirts, a Swiss watch....a signet ring, perhaps. Not much, really, when you think of what bigwigs had available to do the job. It is not a new idea that advertising not only familiarizes folks with the brand, it grows it. To do that big time there is no substitute for jewels and for a millennium, at least, men had them and wore them.

Rulers had first choice of the largest and finest jewels on the market and most, although not every single one of them was a fellow. In Europe almost all gems were imported.  But for Maharajas, dazzling raw materials were close by. For at least 3000 years India was the source of all the world's diamonds. Production did not begin in South Africa until well into the 19th century and by then Indian mines were pretty well played out. Even now, the most sought after (and expensive) sapphires come from Kashmir. Gem dealers did not have to travel far to get their hands on prized Burmese rubies. As for pearls: Divers risked the lives in the Arabian Gulf bringing up more than enough for even the most lavish swags that were looped around the necks of Sultans and Maharajahs. (We need not leave out export to the West or the use of such jewels by women:  Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Catherine the Great Empress of Russia--as well as countless courtesans in the Most Serene Republic--were also given to swaddling themselves in gems including an abundance of pearls.)
  In 1468, Afanasy Nikitin, a Russian horse trader with ambitions--set off for India. He was stupefied by the number of jewels he there. He took a particular shine to the city of Bidar and its Sultan whose palace was itself a jewel; every surface carved and gilded. The saddle the Sultan rode on was made of gold set with sapphires; a huge diamond was embellished his headdress.[A related turban ornament illustrated below,] An account of Nikitin's travels appears near the beginning of  "India: Jewels that Enchanted the World," the lavishly illustrated, intelligently written book that accompanies an exhibition of the same name. Nikitin was one of the first Europeans to reach India and remained there for four years. The account left by the 17th century French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier is far better known but including Nikitin forges a link welcome to the show's organizers. This exhibition which is on until 27 July opened in Moscow on April 12. It is a major production.

Turban ornament (sarpech) 
Rajasthan, 19th century; gold, diamonds, emeralds, emerald beads, pearl, enamelAdd caption

Some 300 jewels and jewelled objects [see for example the hookah below] are on display. They range from pieces made in the 17th century to those fabricated recently. It is said to be the largest ever exhibition of its kind--anywhere,  The show is collaboration between the State Museums of Moscow Kremlin, headed by Dr Elena Gagarina and the Indo-Russian Jewellery Foundation. According to the press release the foundation was founded by "diamond and jewellery connoisseur Alex Popov." Mr. Popov also happens to be a diamond merchant who set up the Moscow diamond bourse (one in an international network of independent diamond exchanges.) Not for the first time in a museum exhibition aesthetics and business snuggle up cosily. India today is a major market as well as home to some of the most skilled gem cutters and setters in the world.

AWater vessel (huqqah) and tobacco bowl (chilam) support from a water pipe 
Mewar, c. 1700
Gold, enamel

    Lenders have been generous. Pieces have been borrowed from the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait, the British Museum, the Doha Museum of Islamic Art and the Victoria&Albert Museum.  Commercial lenders include the Khalili Collection, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chaumet: In the early years of the 20th century, the Maharajahs and their consorts sent their fabulous jewels to Paris to be re-set in accordance with contemporary European taste. The old and the new thereafter cohabited. A full- length black- and -white photograph of the Maharajah Yeshwantrao Holkar II of Indore shows him wearing a sash formed not by a broad ribbon but by multiple, long strings of pearls; the diamond and emerald ornament decorating his headdress had been recently designed for him in Paris by the firm of Mauboussin. The rocks were his own and include a huge tear-drop diamond that dangles from the tip of the diamond feather at the top while six large, tear-drop cabochon emeralds  hang from the diamond bar along the bottom. What a light show it must have been when the Maharajah took even a couple of steps. Surely he couldn't have been carried everywhere==all the time. Anyway not by the mid 1930s when the photograph was taken. And the Maharajas did not stop draping themselves in precious stones then. Even today in India deals are done with jewels that are excess to requirements. Excess. Requirements. It is not a concept that fits.

In Paris strolling with Watteau

"From Watteau to Fragonard: les getes galantes" is a honey of a show. It is at the Jacquemart Andre museumi in Paris until the 21st of July. It is bound to be a delight even in the heat (and tourist, sardine can) of summer. But now in Spring it could not be better. Cold, wet, windy winter is over! Time to drift out into the city; to stroll and to loll about under the trees. Why not do it in the company of Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) and those who soon followed--Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743); Jean-Baptise Pater (1695-1725) and even those Johnnies come later, Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732--1806) and Francois Boucher (1703--1770). But earlier is better certainly here, now in Paris and at the same time, then in the bloom of the 18th century. Afterwards, walk in the evening and dream of the marionette vendors, the flirts, the gowns and floppy- bow trimmed shoes.