The precious piece of jewellery is an Imperial Mughal artifact inscribed with the names of Emperors Jahangir, Prince Khurram and Alamgir (Aurangazeb) and dates back to 1615 AD. The stone with a pink hue weighs approximately 54.5 carats and is incised with nasta'liq calligraphy. It is set in a gold chain, with a hanging seed pearl and metal-thread pendant.

The stone has an interesting history and how it landed in the hands of a private collector in rural England is even more interesting. Embracing the concepts of identity, legitimacy and authority this prized possession whose wine-dark hues evoke the light of dust (shafaq), reflects the rich lives of one of the most powerful dynasties of India.

Many of such rare gemstones is said to belong to Emperor Jahangir. As legend goes, when Jacques de Coutre, a Flemish jewel cutter visited Jahangir’s court, he said that the emperor was covered in so many gemstones that he looked like an idol and that he might’ve had more jewels than all the monarchs of Europe put together. Spinels of this kind and this royal history are hard to come by. The jewellery will be auctioned on April 26th.