Picture Details
Sandalwood necklace
Partner:
Kew GardensImage reference:
EBC44785Origin:
Tamil Nadu, IndiaDonor / Date:
India Museum, c.1879Size:
L 460 mmDescription:
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The beads on this necklace are made from the wood of the tree. Although the records tell us that this is a necklace, it is actually much more likely to be a rosary. The India Museum in London was formed by the East India Company in 1801 to display artefacts, natural history specimens and illustrations from the Indian subcontinent. The Museum was closed in 1879 and its collections dispersed among the London Museums and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This necklace were donated to the India Museum when the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India was known as Madras, Madras is the name now used for the state's capital.
