EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK
JEWELS OF THE NIZAMS
If the Nizam’s status was proclaimed by his turban ornaments, belts, buttons, and swords, then the status of the women in the complex palace hierarchy was revealed by the quantity, quality, and kinds of jewels they wore. For the first time, the jewels are shown alongside photographs of the men, women and children whom they adorned; in many instances, the actual pieces from the photographs are shown. Pieces of jewellery scattered in faraway collections metaphorically come home and are reunited with royal members who once wore them. A carved emerald armband now in the Al Sabah collection in Kuwait, once served as a precious amulet for a begum; an emerald sarpech sold by Christie’s and now in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, was wrapped around the dastar ( turban) of a young Azam Jah posing in a family photograph with his father, Osman Ali Khan: and a magnificent ceremonial sword now in the Al Thani collection was probably held by Mahboob Ali Khan as he was invested with the power to rule and took his seat on the masnad of Hyderabad. For more than two hundred years the Nizams ruled the Deccan virtually free of interference from Delhi, and the state of Hyderabad developed into the last bastion of Mughal culture in India a culture that endured in court etiquette, a treasury brimming with gems and jewels, a lifestyle of incredible opulence, and the sartorial splendour of embroidered silks and gem- encrusted robes. Treasures of the Deccan affords a glimpse into the splendorous court of Hyderabad. It explores the masnad, the seat of power and the grace of enlightened kingship of the sixth and seventh Nizams, Mahboob Ali Khan and Osman Ali Khan, respectively. It ventures behind the veil into the mahallat, the sacred space in the palace where the women lived in beautiful seclusion. Although Nizami culture was influenced by the Mughals, it established its own unique style. The restrained elegance of the Mughal aesthetic, the bold sensuality of the Deccani idiom, and European influences all came together in Hyderabad in the court of the fabulous Mughals