BHOPAL: Muthio - an Ivory Bangle of Rabari community of Kutch, is the fourth ‘Exhibit of Week’ of the month of January on the official website and social media pages of the museum.
Height and circumference of the exhibit, collected from the Rabari community of Kutch, Gujarat in 1990 by the museum, are 9.5 cm and 31cm.
Assistant keeper of the museum Sudeepa Roy says that wearing ivory bangles among the Rabaris is common for all stages of life. The Rabari women covered their hands up to shoulder by wearing Muthio and Chudo to show their marital identity, whereas the unmarried women covered up to the elbow only. The Muthio is regarded as an important item of the gift, presented to the bride by the maternal uncle’s family one day ahead of the marriage ceremony, she says.
Director of the museum Praveen Kumar Mishra says that since time immemorial, ivory has become a distinctive ornament for the property of its stainless purity of white colour and comparative scarcity. The available literature and archaeological findings have provided ample evidence about the richness of ivory craft in ancient India. This hourglass-shaped wristlet is meticulously carved out of a single ivory piece.
The size of the hollow upper rim is bigger than that of the other to facilitate easeful wearing. It is used by the Dhebaria women of the Rabari group to decorate their wrists after marriage, he says.