#glasses in india

[sixteenseveredhands]

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

#history #archaeology #artifact #mughal #india #17th century #art #emerald #diamond #glasses #indian lore #islam #religion #mysticism #indian history #anthropology #spirituality #fashion

[yourspex]

We are in the mood for some Harry Potter Vibe Get your hands on these super cool Black Round eyeglass for men Visit yourspex.com to shop now! Follow us at @yourspex for more!

#spectacles online #eyeglass online india #eyeglasses online #buy specs online #buy eyeglasses online #spectacle frame online #spex frame #eyeglass #spectacles #buy spectacles online #spectacles for men #glasses in india #online spectacles india #branded eyeglasses online india #order specs online

[artifacts-archive]

Dagger with Scabbard

Indian, Mughal 1605–27

The hilt of the dagger is constructed of heavy sections of gold over an iron core and its scabbard mounts are of solid gold. All the intricately engraved surfaces are set with gems and colored glass finely cut with floral forms. The designs closely parallel those in Mughal painting of the early seventeenth century, suggesting the dagger dates from the reign of Emperor Jahangir (1605–27), whose deep love of nature, especially flowers, is well documented in his memoirs, the "Tuzuk." The blade is forged of watered steel.

#artifact #India #Mughal #dagger #weaponry #steel #iron #gold #ruby #emerald #glass #wood #textile

[silverfoxstole]

Tailor Steven Ricks with Paul, Conrad and India at Spearhead Live 3 three weeks ago.

#he goes along now as paul’s unofficial dresser i believe #paul mcgann #conrad westmaas #india fisher #steven ricks tailoring #doctor who #eighth doctor #8th doctor #spearhead live 3 #i see paul got caught with his eyes shut in that first one #nice to know that doesn’t just happen to me! #he’s got his glasses on his head too

[franken-loser]

I wish my brain had the capacity to actually analyze frankenstein characters cause they're sooooo interesting and i adore them and i would LOVE to write an analysis on some of them

but most of what goes on in my brain all day is literally just victor and henry kissing, i wish i was joking

#me uhhh me thinking about henrys character ouugghhhhhh #he wanted a liberal education☹️☹️☹️☹️ #he was interested in language☹️☹️☹️☹️ #his father didn't want him to pursue language he wanted him to be a merchant☹️☹️☹️😧 #HE MADE LITTLE PLAYS AND STORIES AND HAD HIM AND VICTOR AND ELIZABETH ACT THEM OUT WITH HIM LIKE☹️☹️☹️ #sorry im rlly fixated on henry #sigh #i adore everything about henry #except for him wanting to help the colonization of india in the 1831 version #pls dont do that bbg #hes a flawed character and i LOVE that about him but i tend to look at characters im fixated on with rose colored glasses #i wish i didn't💔

[sanguche-toto]

man I forgot to clean up the lineart :/ oh well...

#my art #art wip #lyla atsv #miguel o'hara #pavitr prabhakar #hobie brown #spider man: across the spider verse #spiderman 2099 #spider punk #lyla spiderverse #spiderman india #I'll re-do lyla's glasses but I'll leave evrything else as it is

[cool-stuffandthings]

After watching Glass Onion and relistening to The Chimes of Midnight, I really hope Paul Mcgann and India Fisher are in the next Knives Out movie with Benoit Blanc using plum pudding as a metaphor to solve the mystery

#glass onion #knives out #benoit blanc #big finish #doctor who #eighth doctor #paul mcgann #india fisher #the chimes of midnight #plum pudding

[brokenbackmountain]

isn't it crazy how they make an entire dictator together

#i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm s #india #tamil nadu #vijay #RAGHHHHH TALAPATHY NAMMA TALAPATHY VIJAY RAGHHHHHHHH #mk stalin #[putting on my glasses] erm it's because vijay's first name is joseph and #tamilblr #desiblr

[cruelsummer-thesingle]

seems like this awards season only had good news all around. Glass onion and knives out won, white lotus and Jennifer Coolidge won, Brendan Fraser won(!), Everything won everything (!!!!) and us Indian besties won with RRR at the Golden Globes AND the Critics choice awards!!!!!

What a great start to the year!!!

#critics choice awards #everything everywhere all at once #michelle yeoh #brendan fraser #ke huy quan #glass onion #knives out #jennifer coolidge #daniel craig #white lotus #rrr #ss rajamouli #indian tumblr #india

[somerabbitholes]

the glass menagerie at bikaner house, new delhi

#artblr #studyblr #study aesthetic #art #art gallery #photography #studysthetics #photos #studyspo #glass #aesthetic #museums #india #study blog #academia

[pepperb0n3z]

A little garden snail! Medium is India ink on watercolor paper. I used a glass dip ink pen for the line work and brushes for the rest. I’m working on a cute snail series for the next batch of cards I’m printing.

#snail #cincinnatiartist #india ink #line art #snail art #snail drawing #garden #grassy field #glass dip pen

[official-aryan]

Looking at Mirror

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: "Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym". In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.

The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: "Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!" One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself.

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: "There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU." You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. "The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself" .

Moral: The world is like a mirror: it gives back to anyone the reflection of the thoughts in which one has strongly believed. The world and your reality are like mirrors lying in a coffin, which show to any individual the death of his divine capability to imagine and create his happiness and his success. It's the way you face Life that makes the difference.

🅰️ryan

#mirror #glasses #inspiration story #inspiring quotes #inspiring beauty #inspiration #inspiring words #storytelling #stories #storia #short story #story #original story #delhi #india #fact #qoutes #facts #morning #life

[insane-eli]

Flop sweat prickled at his temples, staining the copper hair there a darker shade of mahogany.

#flop stoppers #prickcest #at her mercy #temples of india #stained glass #the copper beeches #hair therapy #a darker shade of magic

[gentlyepigrams]

Stained glass of Jai Vilas Palace / Jai Vilas Mahal / HH Mahajara Sir Jiwajirao Scindia Museum, Gwalior, India

#stained glass #india

[robotblues]

Two pairs of 17th-century glasses ... The jewel-encrusted spectacles, which feature lenses made from diamond and emerald rather than glass, are believed to have originally belonged to royals in the Mughal Empire, which once ruled over the Indian subcontinent. The spectacles are an exceptionally rare example of Mughal jewelry craftsmanship ... The items' rarity is also down to the sheer size of their gemstone lenses. The lenses in one pair, known as the "Halo of Light" spectacles, are believed to have been cleaved from a single 200-carat diamond found in Golconda, a region in the present-day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. (Sotheby's estimates the original diamond was "possibly the largest ever found.") The green lenses of the second pair, dubbed the "Gate of Paradise," are meanwhile believed to have been cut from a Colombian emerald weighing over 300 carats. [1]

#jewelry #glasses #mughal #india #diamond #17th century #m

[cameoutstruggling93]

😌🌊

#please excuse my face #girls #bambi eyes #nerdy girls #hazel eyes #girls with glasses #ocean state #rhode island #providence #india point park #Sunday funday #ocean state girl