Fine Arts: Object of Desire
Two pairs of glittering Indian 17th-century spectacles are up for grabs at Sotheby’s
In the 17th century, when India’s Mughal Empire had reached its peak in terms of scientific and artistic achievement, a prince commissioned two pairs of spectacles to be made from a diamond weighing 200cts and an emerald weighing 300cts. The first pair, named Halo of Light, had diamond lenses; the second, named the Gate of Life, had lenses consisting of two flat cut emeralds of drop shape form. In the 19th century, both pairs were ...
