Typology of Iranian Royal Jeqqas during Qajar Dynasty

“Jeqqa” is one of the prevalent types of Iranian royal jewelry during the Qajar era, which was used to decorate the headdress of shahs and princes. The use of this ornament as a sign of kingship in Iran dates back to Safavid era. It was embellished with birds' feather, and precious stones and jewels, and was mounted on the Shahs' headdress or crown. Its typical form was similar to the Paisley (Buta-jigha) pattern and was probably named as “Jeqqa” due to this reason in Persian. Royal Jeqqas are often known as ornaments for men, and is specially designed as a decoration or cover for shahs or princes in ceremonies like coronation (tāj-guẕārī), new year fests (salām-i nowrūz), public levée (bār-i ͑āmm) and etc. Hence, Jeqqa is occasionally introduced as a monarchy appliance as well as crown, throne and sword. This jewelry is diverse in terms of form, embellishment as well as construction methods, and their study can be useful in recognizing part of the history of jewelry and jewelry-making tradition in Iran. For this purpose, available Jeqqas in the Iranian Treasury of National Jewelry have been carefully studied and evaluated. The selection of samples was in such a way that can cover all types of Jeqqas, and thus, its results can be generalized to all of the royal Jeqqas. . In this study, documents of the Royal Houses from the Golestān Palace were also used to identify and authenticate the selected Jeqqas.
The method of this research is descriptive-analytic, and it is written based on field observations and library studies. Accordingly, Iranian royal Jeqqas in Qajar era are discussed in three general categories, including “Paisley Jeqqa”, “The Lion and The Sun Jeqqa”, and finally “European-Style Jeqqa”. Paisley Jeqqa has been used from Afsharid era and influenced by the Indian Sarpech in Iran royal jewelry and remained unchanged until the end of Qajar era.
The Lion and Sun Jeqqa has been commonly used in Qajar royal jewelry since the second half of the 13th AH/19th AD. Use of this motif was prevalent in royal jewelry, but it was used in Jeqqas in the reign of Nāṣir-al-Dīn Shāh Qajar. Also the use of two symmetrical lions and suns, is the main feature of royal Jeqqa.
European-Style Jeqqa are the most diverse type of Iran Jeqqas in Qajar era. These Jeqqas are influenced by “Georgian” and “Victorian” jewelry styles. The effect of these two styles can be seen in European-Style Jeqqas of Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shāh and Nāṣir-al-Dīn Shāh periods respectively, and their recognition is possible according to their forms and decorative patterns. However, the effects of Victorian jewelry have led to the development of jewelry making in Iran. Thus, it can be considered as the most prominent sign of combination of traditional and European-Style jewelry in royal Jeqqas.