Jaipur, The Pink City, named for its terracotta pink stone exclusively used for the buildings. Tibor Bognar / Alamy Stock Photo.
Written by Vivienne Becker
Krishna Choudhary grew up in Jaipur, and the Pink City remains his enduring inspiration, his constant muse. Here he lists the influences from Jaipur and nearby cities, the inspirations drawn from the family haveli, the forts and palaces, architectural gems that have fuelled his imagination and shaped the design themes and leitmotifs of his signature Santi style. As he explains: “I always wanted to understand Mughal art and design, and particularly architecture. When I was young, I saw so many beautiful things: buildings, jewelry, objects, textiles, carpets, miniature paintings. Even looking at the dome in our haveli, I would find something new there each time. And, as a child, visiting the workshops, I was fascinated by the reflections and refractions of gemstones. After my formal education, after meeting scholars and seeing similar objects in museums, I had a much better understanding of everything I had seen. I was able to translate designs, motifs, patterns into contemporary jewelry, and I was able to explain their meanings and significance to others, and now to my clients.”
Flowers
The stylized floral motifs that dominate Mughal art and design represented the gardens of Paradise, lush with an abundance of lilies, poppies, roses, lotus flowers, carnations, tulips, all more perfect and poetic than any earthly plant, all imbued with an otherworldly beauty. Krishna drew inspiration from the painted ornamentation of the family haveli, from the magnificent rooms of the City palace, and particularly the opulent Hall of Mirrors, the Sheesh Mahal, in the Amber Fort, the Maharajah’s bedchamber. Here mirrored tiles are mixed with colored glass, cut in the shapes of petals, leaves, flowerheads, elaborate and jewel-like. “I would go to the City Palace with my parents whenever the Royal family held a celebration, and I would be lost in the beauty and richness of the decoration,” says Krishna. “Later I came to understand these flowers, that they are purposefully indefinable, not from this world, but an evocation of Paradise, an expression of Paradise on earth.”
The Sheesh Mahal “Hall of Mirrors” in the Amber Fort decorated with elaborate, jewel-like mirrored tiles and colored glass. Zoltan Bagosi / Alamy Stock Photo.
Geometry
Krishna explains how he was intrigued by architecture from a young age, how he loved seeing the arches and architectural details in the old city, and in other nearby cities, architectural gems such as Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Karauli. He was 2aptive by the use of the chevron pattern, most famously incorporated in the Taj Mahal. And so, he was familiar with the geometry that is the cornerstone of Islamic decorative art and architecture, geometry as an expression of the essential underlying mathematical order of the cosmos, the sacred geometry of the natural world. Geometric patterns were endlessly versatile, while symmetry and rhythmic repetition were important in Mughal architecture and design; symmetry for supreme harmony, and repetition as emblematic of infinity. In Santi jewels, Krishna explores the timeless modernism of geometry, and particularly the repetition of patterns, fusing them with a gentle fluidity: “I try to capture a free-flowing symmetry.”
The Taj Mahal with its ornate, inlaid marble patterns like the chevron, a decorative theme incorporated throughout Santi’s jewels. Stockbym / Alamy Stock Photo.
Waves
Water and flowers were the most important ingredients of a paradisiacal garden, and Krishna’s favorite chevron design, inspired by architectural details, objects, plates, dishes, (where it forms the radial pattern he interprets in disc earrings), represents the waters of the streams that flowed across the char-bagh, the four gardens of Paradise. Krishna explains that he also loves the softer, undulating pattern of waves, the leheriya, found on objects as enameled background to floral designs, or tie-dyed or woven into traditional fabrics.
Hypnotic Chevron earrings set in platinum with two round old mine diamonds, completed with mixed size diamond pavé. Photo credit: Laura Randall.
Jali
The meticulously cut and pierced openwork, in metal and mineral, (notably the striking carved turquoise of Cartouche Lily earrings) that is one of Santi’s signature design features is inspired by the jali, the intricate openwork of awe-inspiring carved jade objects, several in the Choudhary collection, or the lattice stonework of Mughal architecture, seen in the Agra Fort or in the Hawa Mahal or Wind Place in Jaipur. The elaborate openwork carved in the distinctive pink and red sandstone of the Wind Palace created the screens behind which the women of the court could watch the comings and goings, ceremonies and rituals. The jali also filtered strong sunlight and allowed a breeze to waft through the palace, hence the name of the famous palace. Jali, applied to jade objects, provided the perfect vehicle to showcase the skills of the stone carvers working in Imperial Mughal ateliers, and elevated everyday objects into spiritually imbued works of art. Krishna has always been captivated by the play of light, the sense of mystery, the ethereality of the jali; “I love the idea of seeing through, of something that’s there and yet not there.”
The façade of Hawa Mahal, or “Wind Palace,” with its jali, open lattice stonework, that filtered sunlight and allowed a breeze to waft through the palace. Martin Bache / Alamy Stock Photo.
Cartouche
The lilting, shapely cartouche shape that runs through Santi jewels is inspired by enlaced patterns, of arabesques or strapwork, found in stonework, decorative interiors, objects, carpets, textiles Krishna saw in the decoration of the family haveli, and in the great halls of the Amber Fort and the City Palace. He finds their lyrical outlines and mix of geometry and fluidity ideal for silhouettes, bringing a timeless modernity and a faint, familiar echo of splendor, romance and nobility.
Bombé ring with cartouche titanium waves that envelop a smoky purple spinel. Photo credit: Laura Randall.
Gemstones
Exceptional gemstones, both old and new, always characterful and charismatic, give Santi jewels their soul; generating a sense of wonder. Jaipur is world-famous as a gem-trading and gem-cutting center, and Krishna says his home-city is still his favorite place to find the very particular stones he searches for. “Jaipur still has the most immense supply of colored gemstones from both old and new vibrant materials. Jaipur always surprises when I am on a lookout for stones.”
And when he’s not researching, designing, gem-sourcing or working in Jaipur, Krishna tells how he loves to wind down. His passion is horse riding, intimately connected to the city of Jaipur through polo, a national Indian sport, introduced, by the early Mughal Emperors. The Maharajahs of Jaipur, notably Man Singh II, established the city as a major hub for polo, and today the current young maharajah is a keen polo player. Krishna himself, has played polo matches around the world, in Germany, South Africa and Malaysia. And what about relaxing with the family? “We love feeding the monkeys in Jaipur, he replies, “and we often visit the Galta Hindu temples just outside of the city, famous for its many monkey inhabitants.” Lastly, the food of Jaipur. Krishna admits that in London he misses authentic Indian regional food, and the lunches in the haveli with friends and clients. “If I were to choose my favourite restaurant, it would be Peshawri (in the ITC Rajputana hotel, Jaipur) which offers the rustic oven-based cuisine, from the mountains of the Northwest Frontier.”
Jewels By Santi
20 — 23 September 2022
First Floor Gallery at 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX
For further information, please contact LMclean@phillips.com
Discover More from Jewels By Santi >
Recommended Reading