| INDIA TODAY - The most widely read newsweekly in South Asia. | INDIA TODAY - The most widely read newsweekly in South Asia. | CURRENT ISSUE OCTOBER 9, 2006 | | | | SOCIETY & THE ARTS: BOOKS |  | | | Brand Royalty
A unique book that shows the dazzling range of luxury goods made for Indian princes, many one of a kind, all top of the line and some over the top. Based on rare archival material, they reveal the extravagance of Indian royalty. | | | By Dilip Bobb | | | |  MADE FOR MAHARAJAS
Text by Amin Jaffer; Edited by Priya Kapoor
Lustre Press/Roli Books
Price: Rs 4,500; Pages: 276
| Indian royalty is on a roll. A spate of books-the literary equivalent of a 21 gun salute to our erstwhile maharajas-has symbolised something of a revival in interest in their lives and times, follies and foibles, and, of course, their extravagances. This exquisitely-produced coffee table version which comes in a designer leather case is the latest and perhaps the most innovative in the series. It is sub-titled The Design Diary of Princely India and explores the obsession among Indian royalty for European luxury goods. The privy purse may be history but at the peak of their pomp and power, royal purses helped create the most free-spending patrons of European fashion and design. From cars to clothes, jewels and ornaments, monogrammed crockery and linen, furniture and fixtures, even the design of entire palaces, Indian princes ordered the best and most expensive available from the luxury houses of Europe, mainly London, Paris and Milan. So much so that in 1928, British press and public opinion reflected the view that "Indian princes have nothing to do except live in luxury and spend money with a shovel". The shovel, naturally, had to be handcrafted, gold-plated and made by the most famous jeweller of the time.
 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | ROYAL PATRONS: Maharaja of Patiala | | The author and publishers have uncovered some rare and fascinating archival material, photographs, bills, original sketches and commissions from leading luxury houses and private collections that reveal the creative dialogue between Indian royalty and the world's leading craftsmen, a dialogue that produced some dazzling, remarkable and historic work, and also revealed their eccentricities. From Scindia's silver-plated toy train that served as a mobile bar at the dining table, to Kapurthala's copy of the Elysées Palace, Patiala's extravagant jewellery from Cartier and Boucheron, the fleets of custom-built Rolls Royce cars, chandeliers from Venice, engraved weapons from Holland & Holland, gold-braided uniforms, clothes from legendary fashion houses in Paris, porcelain from Dresden, crystal from Bacarrat, glass from Lalique, luggage from Louis Vuitton and even gourmet food and wines from Fortnum & Masons, this book collates the amazing range of goods made for Indian princes, many one of a kind, all top of the line and some over the top. It helped that author Amin Jaffer is the curator in the Asian Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum and a specialist in Indian art and culture in the period of European influence.
| | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | FRIEZE FRAME: Custom engraved gun made by Holland & Holland for the Maharani of Jodhpur as a present for her husband Maharaja Umaid Singh | | The rare photographs best illustrate the most profligate and flamboyant period of Indian history, specially the jewellery. There is the exquisite platinum necklace studded with diamonds and rubies made for Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda by Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Boucheron's unique creations for the maharajas of Patiala and Kapurthala, including the Patiala Necklace, an extraordinary piece of diamonds and other precious stones amounting to 962.25 carats which included the 234.65 carat De Beers diamond. Another great collector of jewels was Ranjitsinhji, the famous cricketer. Jacques Cartier considered his collection of emeralds "unequalled in the world". The house of Chaumet was also greatly favoured by Indian royals for expensive baubles and Holkar of Indore, one of the most westernised of Indian former royals, became a leading patron. The extravagance was not easily justified. Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar learnt, at the age of three, to make her way from the family mansion in Knightsbridge to the Harrrods toy department, for daily shopping sprees which she "put on account". No one in the store dared question her. Patiala's Bhupinder Singh's obsession for expensive jewellery and other indulgences led to him running up debts of £54,000 to European luxury houses in 1930, forcing him to apply to the Indian government for a loan to pay off the outstanding bills. Other stories are somewhat apocryphal but one in particular concerns Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda who sold a piece of diamond and emerald anklets to Harry Winston who made them into a necklace for the Duchess of Windsor. The Duchess wore the piece to a New York party where Sita Devi was also present. Overhearing praise for the piece, she remarked loudly that the jewels looked better when she had worn them on her feet. In India, royal wives and women wore Indian dress but when abroad, which was most times of the year, they switched to European dresses. Sita Devi of Kapurthala was considered one of the best dressed women in the world and she and other members of royal households custom designed their clothes and accessories by the leading fashion houses of the era. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | UNIQUE: Elephant mystery clock made by Cartier for Jam Saheb Ranjitsinghji of Nawanagar | | This fascinating book covers jewellery, dresses and accessories, linen, table settings, china, dishes and ornaments, stationery, royal crests, portraits, guns, cars, trains-real and toy-horses and polo ponies, fashion, clothes, luggage and much more, gleaned from earlier books and archives maintained by manufacturers and retailers like Bacarrat, Rolls Royce, Chaumet, Boucheron, Cartier, Christofle, Harrods, Ferragamo, Fortnum & Mason, Hermés, Louis Vuitton, Asprey's, Dunhill and Tiffany, the famed tailoring establishments on Savile Row, and specialist gunmakers like Holland & Holland. The text, not surprisingly considering the author's credentials, is on the scholarly side, but it is the archival material and the photographs that really showcase the magic and madness of Indian royalty. A famous quote about Indian royals says that they were created to provide a spectacle to the world. Few other books offer such conclusive proof.
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