The sarpech ( ur, سرپیچ/ hi, सरपेच, from

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

), also known as an

aigrette The term aigrette (; from the French for egret, or ''lesser white heron'') refers to the tufted crest or head-plumes of the egret, used for adorning a headdress. The word may also identify any similar ornament, in gems. History and description ...

, is a turban ornament that was worn by significant Hindu, Sikh and Muslim princes. ''Sar'' means "head" or "front" and ''pech'' means "screw", giving the word ''"sarpech"'' the literal meaning "that which is screwed onto the front (of the turban)". The ''sarpech'' was also worn in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, where it was known as ''jikka'' or ''jiqa'' ( fa, جقه), meaning "crest" or "tuft", and in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, where it was known as the ''sorguch'', a name considered a corrupt form of the Persian word . In India, dominantly two kinds of turban ornaments exist: the ''sarpech'' and the Kalgi (ornament).

Origin and etymology

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, various types of Sarpech are found depending on their time of production. Those produced in the 16th and 17th centuries resembled a plume and were worn on the right side of the turban. Their material depended on the occasion. The original 16th-century Sarpech was a single unit; then, in the 18th century, two side units were added. With the 19th century, emphasis on elaborate jewelry increased and there were Sarpech big enough to cover half the turban.

Structure

This is a general description of the Sarpech. The basic structure of a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

Indian Sarpech is flat (''hamwar''). It is a single sheet of metal with gemstones set in its hollow construction. Designs are usually symmetrical (''ba-qarina'') and gemstones are set (''jadau'') on the front (''rukh''). The backside is exquisitely enameled too but remains hidden from the viewer. ''Sarpeches'' with one upward rising unit are known as ''ek kalangi'' while those with three projections are called ''tin kalangi''. Most Sarpech patterns are floral in nature and seem to have borrowed from the existing textile vocabulary in

Mughal India The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

References

{{hats Turbans Jewellery of India Mughal art Islamic metal art