wonderwithin-us

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Emerald Spectacles from India, c. 1620-1660 CE: the lenses of these spectacles were cut from a single 300-carat emerald, and it was believed that they possessed mystical properties

These eyeglasses are also known by the name "Astaneh-e ferdaws," meaning "Gate of Paradise," based on the symbolic associations between the color green and the concept of spiritual salvation/Paradise. That symbolism (which is rooted in Islamic tradition) was especially popular in Mughal-era India, where the spectacles were made.

The lenses were crafted from two thin slices of the same emerald. Together, the lenses have a combined weight of about 27 carats, but given the precision, size, and shape of each lens, experts believe that the original emerald likely weighed in excess of 300 carats (more than sixty grams) before it was cleaved down in order to produce the lenses. The emerald was sourced from a mine in Muzo, Colombia, and it was then transported across the Atlantic by Spanish or Portuguese merchants.

Each lens is encircled by a series of rose-cut diamonds, which run along an ornate frame made of gold and silver. The diamond-studded frame was added in the 1890s, when the original prince-nez design was fitted with more modern frames.

The emerald eyeglasses have long been paired with a second set of spectacles, and they were almost certainly commissioned by the same patron. This second pair is known as "Halqeh-e nur," or the "Halo of Light."

The Halo of Light features lenses that were made from slices of diamond. The diamond lenses were cleaved from a single stone, just like the emerald lenses, with the diamond itself being sourced from a mine in Southern India. It's estimated that the original, uncut diamond would have weighed about 200-300 carats, which would make it one of the largest uncut diamonds ever found.

The lenses are so clear and so smoothly cut that it sometimes looks like they're not even there.

Both sets of spectacles date back to the mid-1600s, and it's generally believed that they were commissioned by a Mughal emperor or prince. The identity of that person is still a bit of a mystery, but it has been widely speculated that the patron was Shah Jahan -- the Mughal ruler who famously commissioned the Taj Mahal after the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan did rule as the Mughal emperor from about 1628 to 1658.

The emerald and diamond lenses may have been chosen for symbolic, sentimental, and/or cultural reasons, or they may have been chosen simply because they're pretty and extravagant; the original meaning and purpose behind the design is still unclear. Experts do believe that the eyeglasses were designed to be worn by someone, though.

At times, it was believed that the spectacles had spiritual properties, like the ability to promote healing, to ward off evil, to impart wisdom, and to bring the wearer closer to enlightenment. Those beliefs are largely based on the spiritual significance that emeralds and diamonds can have within certain Indic and Islamic traditions -- emeralds may be viewed as an emblem of Paradise, salvation, healing, cleansing, and eternal life, while diamonds are similarly associated with enlightenment, wisdom, celestial light, and mysticism.

The Gate of Paradise and the Halo of Light were both kept in the collections of a wealthy Indian family until 1980, when they were sold to private collectors, and they were then put up for auction once again in 2021. They were most recently valued at about $2 million to $3.4 million per pair.

Sources & More Info:

Sotheby's: Mughal Spectacles

Architectural Digest of India: At Sotheby's auction, Mughal-era eyeglasses made of diamond and emerald create a stir

Only Natural Diamonds: Auspicious Sight & the Halqeh-e Nur Spectacles

The Royal Society Publishing: Cleaving the Halqeh-Ye Nur Diamonds

Gemological Institution of America: Two Antique Mughal Spectacles with Gemstone Lenses

Manuscript: From Satan's Crown to the Holy Grail: emeralds in myth, magic, and history

CNN: The $3.5 million Spectacles Said to Ward off Evil

BBC: Rare Mughal Era Spectacles to be Auctioned by Sotheby's

#ancient india #indian fashion history

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The Indian Brahmins took the memorization of the Vedas very seriously, and developed means to ensure accuracy and the careful reproduction of the same words and sounds from generation to generation. Careful, even exact oral replication of the Vedas was part of the Hindu faith, institutionalized during the learning process and maintained through peer observation and pressure through the life of a Brahmin. This community of faithful Brahmins was large and they all went through the same learning process, which was standardized to some degree. Deviation from the ... path of exact replication would have brought powerful forces of censure to bear on the offender...

The noted Sanskritist J.A.B van Buitenen told me that in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Europeans who were learning Sanskrit were impressed by the fact that no matter where they went in the subcontinent, when they heard Brahmins recite the Vedas they heard the exact same thing. From Peshawar to Pondicherry, or Calcutta to Cape Comorin, hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Brahmins who had no direct contact knew these texts in precisely the same way...

— Gregory L. Possehl, Indus Age: The Beginnings

#ancient india

[wonderwithin-us]

also, someone 2300+ years ago wearing churidar and angrakha

I'm only sharing these because there's this widespread belief that these are modern (or at least medieval) clothing but apparently we've always worn them

#ancient india #indian fashion history

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Yajur Ved

#ancient india

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Ivory comb, India, 200 BC - 100 AD

from The Cleveland Museum of Art

#ancient india #indian fashion history

[wonderwithin-us]

also it seems like casual chappals were always thing with us (1st BCE)

#ancient india #indian fashion history

[wonderwithin-us]

Hozier on the meaning behind Too Sweet 🖤

❝ But the song as an idea was kind of an alternative for the circle of gluttony on the record. ❞

#he wouldn't fall for someone who couldn't miabehave #hozier #music #<3

[wonderwithin-us]

Dark Academia

Ig: l_reads

PS: Here you can download my Dark Academia article in PDF "link".

#<33 #dark academia

[wonderwithin-us]

thank you darling <3333 you're the loveliest thing on this earth @haakuus

last song I listened to: too sweet by hozier ♡

currently reading: memories, dreams, reflections by psychologist carl jung (just started! :)) + the hobbit that my friend got me for my bday!!!!;;

currently watching: the good place s4, I started s1 yesterday. I think I might have a problem, actually

currently obsessed with: finding meaning

TAG GAME

get to know you better game! answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to know better.

last song I listened to: at the time I was tagged I think 'love crime' (that one song from the ending of the hannibal tv series) but at the time I'm actually posting this it was 'personal jesus' by Depeche Mode.

currently watching: the Saw movies (I only have 'Saw X' left and I'll be done with that), the spiderman movies (all of them, in no particular order). Also I'm trying to find the time to properly watch the star trek movies again.

currently reading: Nothing. I'm searching for a 'complete Sherlock Holmes' edition to read all the stories thought.

currently obsessed with: umm, nothing actually. I'm still really into star trek, lupin iii, sherlock holmes and a lot of other things (batman?) but I not hyperfixated in any of them in particular at the moment :/

favorite color: deep red, dark blue (with black/gray undertones), forest greens, yellow...

tagged by: @hope-of-enterprise thank you for tagging me, I have no idea if I did this correctly though (also I'm pretty sure this 'tag game' started as a chain of reblogs or something but got 'broken' along the way and I'm too lazy to track the original post)

tagging: I don't think I even know 9 people but here, let me try by tagging some people that I have actually interacted with. @yirima-chai , @sawbones4117 , @starrycrowz , @kaklord , @kabbage-potato , @purpleenma , @scummybee , @bakersttardis , @current-events-mc

If you've already been tagged in this uhh, ignore it I guess.

#mutuals <3 #love notes #tag everyone who sees this! #no stress

[wonderwithin-us]

Details of the early morning in the volcanic Eifel

#:0 #pretty art

[wonderwithin-us]

#prettyyyy #when i grow up <3

[wonderwithin-us]

snoopy of the day

#awwww! #snoopy! #bad days #💌

[wonderwithin-us]

hey im free later if you wanna like get married or merge souls or something

[wonderwithin-us]

7 Reasons you might be procrastinating and how to solve them:

#🌷 #mental health #formositas #bad days #being productive #studyspo

[wonderwithin-us]

week 9, the rest

#i loooooove this! #bsd #other people's lives

[wonderwithin-us]

this is not wasted time. time spent healing and growing and letting yourself feel all the things is never wasted.

#reminders