Found objects can prove to be a treasure in art. So too, in the day-to-day dealings of our trade, we sometimes come across rare ornaments of our make that are returned in exchange for newer designs...

Found objects can prove to be a treasure in art. So too, in the day-to-day dealings of our trade, we sometimes come across rare ornaments of our make that are returned in exchange for newer designs. This kankan, as unique in its construct as it is in its detailing, is one such goyna that was given us practically new, and which we immediately sent for whatever little restoration was needed to the Gold Spa team who took special care to make sure the enamelling remained untouched even while the rest was refreshed and rejuvenated. Made in two distinct sections, twisted wire-and-ball and heley-chain, the kankan is a study in expert craftsmanship with rigorous discipline. The heley-chain, drawn and draped like chiffon over an alna is made rigid by soldering the edges to the inside of the frame which remains exposed when in the wire-mina part. It's soldered along the top as well over a u-pipe contoured to make the drape soft and rounded. The raggedy sides are covered by thokai frames at the ends. The twisted-wire segment is deliberately spare, recalling a barred prison cell, topped by a line of hollow spheres and with the ivory-red-orange butterflies sitting free outside of the bars on a plant the long strappy dark-green leaves of which are visible to the sides. Below is the naked undulated frame of the bangle, polished to a high gloss. The imagery is unmistakable : The Age of the Powerful Projapoti has dawned. Absolutely inimitable in form ---- more so because of the extreme dexterity required to fit two unlike parts around a simple triangulated structure and make them aesthetically and actually contiguous ---- and visually mesmerizing in its refined transgression of draping and denuding itself, enveloping and exposing its anatomy, this one-of-a-kind kankan takes the idea and debate of freedom and control over one's body to an art form where the political and pulchritudinous converge to give us an ornament of universal beauty and supreme strength of character. Fine gold jewellery has a greater role to play in our definition of ourselves as powerful, liberated women. We aren't shackled by societal norms of ornamentation. The strictures of symbolism guiding the wearing of different goyna has all but disappeared. And we must deem 'dowry' a dead word by affirming our rejection of it in practice and of all those who intend to keep it relevant by demanding it. That leaves ornaments to be intensely personal objects and effects of expression of ourselves as strong, independent, individualistic women for whom adornment is a way of being who we are as we want to be: to free ourselves ; have full control over our physical-psychological-spiritual existence ; and witness ourselves in the true light of our beauty, embellished but unconquered by the touch of gold. Over time, these jewels record our histories and help perpetuate us, make us immortal. They embody our character and spirit just as the body of work we leave behind defines our soul. This elegantly athletic, minutely detailed, caringly handcrafted, innately strong, sensuous, sensible, difficult-but-beautiful guinea-gold kankan is a clarion call for us women to embrace fine gold jewellery as an enduring symbol of our complete freedom and inherent supremacy.