Several precious artefacts of the Nizam era and diamonds mined from Golconda during the Qutb Shahi period will be put up for auction at global auction house Christie’s at New York on June 19. The diamonds, better known as the Golconda Diamonds, are flawless precious stones expected to fetch a whopping amount of money for the auctioneers.
The event by the 253-year-old auction house is titled ‘Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence’. According to reports, several precious Golconda diamonds are being put up for auction along with the Nizam of Hyderabad’s diamond encrusted ceremonial sword set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds.
Among these, one of the most precious stones is the 10.46 carat Pink Golconda diamond. An internally flawless stone, the value of the diamond is estimated to be between $1.5 – $2 million. The diamond was unearthed during the Qutb Shahi era from the banks of river Krishna, 200 km southeast of Golconda.
Other coveted diamonds put on auction at Christie’s earlier include the Evening Star, an old-mine pear-shaped cut stone famous for its transparency, one of the salient features of the Golconda diamonds. In the diamond trade, it is widely accepted that all diamonds displaying this special luminousness are of Indian origin.
Equally flawless Portrait diamonds, another Qutb Shai era gem, will also make their way to the auction. They are flat diamonds, extremely shallow and were used as studs in portraits. Large portrait diamonds are extremely rare and are expected to fetch between $500,000 to $1 million.
According to the Christie’s manual, Golconda is the name used within the jewellery world to denote the world’s finest diamonds – gems that possess an innate purity. Besides indicating a superior quality, the term also signifies that the diamond is a period gem, mined in the ancient diamond fields of eastern India.
Some of the most famous Golconda stones include the Agra Diamond, the Hope Diamond, the Koh-i-Noor that forms part of the British Crown Jewels, the Darya-i-Nur in Iran, and The Princie Diamond.
Other items put up for auction here include the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s jade-hilted dagger, a string of pearls belonging to Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, turban ornaments, the Patiala Ruby Choker, a gold finial from the throne of Mysore’s ruler Tipu Sultan, among other precious artefacts.
The artefacts will be on display from June 14-18 before going under the hammer on June 19.