TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN - Parda Ring

Wide cutout screen ring with inlaid lapis lazuli border.

Width: 2.5cm

The Babur Collection

The Babur Collection pays homage to the iconic architecture of Bagh-e-Babur (Babur’s Garden) in Kabul, the final resting place of the first Mughal emperor Babur. Babur made Kabul his home and court for a time in the early sixteenth century, and described his love for the city and its gardens in his extensive diaries. The arched lattice screens that surround his tomb, known as jali, are hand-carved in white marble brought from the Afghan region of Chisht in a decorative style used on monuments across the Mughal empire.

Inspired by these jali patterns, artisan Arif Khan Khalidi has created a striking collection of latticed pieces with bold frames of lapis lazuli. The jewellery is made using the shabakari technique that Afghan artisans have honed over many generations of jewellery-making. Shabakari is the traditional technique of hand-cutting delicate patterns from a metal sheet. The lapis lazuli is from Badakhshan province in Afghanistan, where it has been mined for over six millennia. 

Lapis lazuli was once one of the most highly-prized stones in the world - perhaps most famously used to adorn the regalia of the Egyptian Pharaohs.