History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c34.s1.16

v1.c34.s1.16

The foregoing description of Indian jewellery would reveal that the Indians, both male and female, had great love for ornaments right from the Indus Valley period. In the initial stages, the beads of semi-precious stones in different shapes and sizes were used as an aid to personal beauty. The beads of gold and silver were sparingly used by the rich people. The advances of metallurgy in Vedic era, made it possible to use largely gold and silver for fashioning of intricate jewellery. At the same time, the other materials, like ivory, wood, clay and terracotta were also used to fashion jewellery for the poor section of the society. Coming to Maurya-age, the major parts of the country were united under one paramount rule. The vast resources of the country and intimate relations of the Maurya emperors with west Asian monarchs might have introduced some new traits and traditions of west-Asian origin in Indian jewellery. Some of the ancient jewellery found from Taxila would suggest such a cultural blending.