The sparkling history of the Holkar dynasty of Indore

The Holkar dynasty of Indore is renowned throughout the world for their grand collection of jewels and the finest of jewellery. It was estimated that the entire jewellery collection of the Maharaja during the 1930s-40s was around 40 million dollars. Amongst all, it was said that Maharaja Yeshwantrao Holkar had the strongest penchant for jewellery. He had even invited French jewellers to the likes of Van Clef, Arpels, Chaumet and Moubassin to craft some masterpieces for him. The most popular jewellery pieces in the Holkar collection were the bejewelled dazzling peacock turban, the Indore Pears, the Jonker and Porter Rhodes diamonds, amongst many other such jewels.

The fabled peacock bejewelled turban was crafted using rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and pearls. In order to give the impression of a crown on a turban, European goldsmiths were employed for the job. Another fabled artifact in their collection was the bejewelled walking stick with elephant-shaped handle made out of one single ruby. On the occasions, when the Maharajas would dress up in their traditional regalia, they flaunt a sizable collection of fine Basra pearls. Worth a crore of rupees in 1920, the famous pearl scarf of the Maharaja was also termed as one of the most expensive jewels at that time.

Later some of the exquisite jewels were sold off to Harry Winston by the Holkar Maharaja and Maharani Ushadevi Holkar in order to pay off the taxes that ran into crores, while other marvels were stolen from the palace in a jewellery heist that took place in the 1900s. Thankfully, the stolen pieces were later found in an old antique store in Mumbai but with the passage of time, many have been lost and forgotten. However, their love for the sparkle and shine continues to run in the blood and so deeply that Prince Richard Holkar, the present Scion of the Holkar Dynasty, has secured a degree in jewellery designing.  

Author: Deepa Mishra

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