Shalin Jewelry

Jewellery was used to signify status, and in courtly India could indicate rank. Under the Mughal dynasty(whose rule in India began in 1526), the turban ornament was originally worn only by those of royal status, although this became much less strictly controlled as Mughal authority declined from the early eighteenth century onwards. Jewellery had a vital relationship with the interlinked subjects of religtion, fortune and health, and could harness or influence the powers of nature and the divine.

Amulets have been a common form of Jewellery from ancient times: ccylindrical containers for sacred mantras or prayers have been worn in India since at least the early centuries AD, as indicated by sculptures from Gandhara showing Bodhisativas wearing them, and the same practice was carried out in a Hindu context.