Indian Silver Filigree & Cut-Work Cuff Bracelets

This pair of hinged cuff bracelets is from Calcutta, India and dates to the mid-19th century. The work features very fine silver filigree and applied faceted or silver cut-work granulation and beads.

They taper towards the wrist.

The silver content is likely to be very high and almost pure (greater then sterling).

The use of cut work which gives the applied silver granulation and beads many facets so that they have almost a faceted diamond-like quality started to be used in Calcutta around the middle of the 19th century. It was an innovation by local jewellers that reflected the availability of new tools and new styles on account of Victorian industrialisation.

Examples of Indian jewellery using the cut-work technique are to be found in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum and illustrated in Barnard (2008, p. 76).

The pair is in excellent condition. The hinge mechanisms work well and close tightly.