When Gold Blossoms: Indian Jewelry from the Susan L. Beningson Collection

This book was produced in conjunction with an exhibition presented at the Asia Society Museum in New York, September 14, 2004 to January 23, 2005. It not only celebrates the dazzling beauty and awe-inspiring technical perfection of Indian jewelry but also provides an historical and social framework. As the exhibition centered on South Indian jewelry, so the focus of the book is on gold rather than precious stones. The objects are studied in a broad social and cultural perspective, with far-ranging references to literature, religious symbolism, and social implications, as well as analyzed in terms of form and technique.