Pair of Bracelets and Two Necklaces

These jewels are part of a group of gold and silver ornaments from Surat, that are now kept in the Rijksmuseum. They were collected in the 18th century by a VOC (Dutch East India Company) servant. In India gold jewels were regularly melted down in order to make new, fashionable ornaments. Consequently, Indian jewels from before the 19th century are exceptionally rare.