MEDIEVAL TREASURES

Jaipur's new crown jewel, the Museum Of Minakari Heritage, is a tight little promise of pleasure

- NIDA NAEEM

Resting intimately upon the skin of the wearer, the minakari or enamelling work found on the back of precious jewellery is a celestial garden of eternal spring. This is where poppies, lillies, and carnations bloom, and parrots and peacocks are resplendent in flights of imagination. It's all in the name - the word for enamel in India, mina, is derived from Persian and means spiritual or heavenly. Rivalling emeralds and rubies in their brilliance, the delicate translucence of fired enamel has been coveted through the centuries for the sensual indulgence it evokes.

The history of minakari in India is that of avid cultural exchange and technical innovation, and the recently opened Museum Of Minakari Heritage (MOMH) in Jaipur chronicles this odyssey while celebrating the expertise of generations of minakars. Located near the historic gates of Parkota in The Pink City, the atelier is a longtime dream of jeweller Sunita Shekhawat, who has joined hands with noted jewellery historian Dr Usha Balakrishnan to commission reproductions of archival designs to commemorate 25 years of her fine jewellery maison.