Pendant in the Form of an Eagle Displayed

The front and the upper part of the back of the bird are richly set with precious stones, including a large triangular table-cut diamond on its breast. It beak is carved from a ruby, and the eyes are of sapphires set with a central diamond. Small pearls in groups of three hang from the beak and the tail-feathers; larger single pearls are grasped in its talons. The pendant is very similar in both workmanship and design to an eagle pendant in the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait. The heraldic stance was highly popular in European jewellery of the High Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and it is very probable that these jewels reflect a tradition established by Italian craftsmen working at the Mughal court in the 17th century. This may also explain the use of sapphires, which native Mughal jewellers generally tended to eschew.