ANTIQUE DIAMOND AND ENAMEL SARPECH

Sarpech is Hindi for 'head feather' but is generally known as a turban ornament. It was worn almost exclusively by the emperor, Indian princes and their immediate family. Considered the ultimate symbol of royalty and sometimes used as a reward for exceptional service to the emperor, it evolved from the tradition of pinning a heron's feather (kalgi) to the front of a turban. Even during the reign of Jahangir (1569-1627) a sarpech can be seen in most portraits when they were painted in miniature. During the reign of Shah Jahan (1592-1666), sarpechs became much more elaborate and began to be jewel encrusted. After Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1857 no Indian Prince was supposed to wear a crown and perhaps this explains the emergence of highly elaborate and jeweled sarpechs with their own interpretation of royalty.