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 Just as many of the world’s finest gemstones come from Islamic lands, so does much of the finest jewellery. The elite of various Islamic societies have generally favoured diamonds, emeralds and rubies, along with pearls and a host of semi-precious stones. The ways that they were worked, and the uses that they were put to, often differed greatly from their European counterparts. Nose and toe rings are two types of personal adornment more commonly found in the Islamic world.
Islamic jewellery falls into two broad categories: the exclusive and the ‘ethnic’. Examples of the latter exist among tribal groupings from Morocco to Xinjiang. The IAMM collection is especially rich in the jewellery of Central Asia; substantial yet graceful, usually crafted from silver and set with agates, carnelians or red glass. At the more opulent end of the scale, there is little to rival the magnificence of Indian jewellery.
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