Ladakh Art Palace, located in beautiful alley of Ladakh, was established in 1974 by TsewangTundup. On initial set up there were not much artifacts on display, but with passage of time, the shop became one of the most liked places for tourists where they could buy authentic handicrafts, jewellery etc. The shop, now located in the main market proudly owns multitude of artifacts ranging from different periods of time. Located right at the middle of the Leh market, Ladakh Art Palace carries the legacy of ancient cultures and traditions unharmed and unaltered. Ladakh Art Palace deals only with original products and not any sort of imitation or artificial jewellery. The collection here includes ancient ornaments, carpets, handicrafts, shawls, semi precious stones, attractive masks, collection of ancient boxes etc. One of the main attractions of this place is traditional Ladakhi bridal wear called “Perak”. This ornament is worn overhead and is believed to protect the new bride as she laves her home.
Ladakhi Jewellery is one such piece of identity that distinguishes Ladakhi women from others. People in Ladakh have a distinct style of dressing as well as their choice of jewellery is also different. The most distinguishable unique ornament worn by a woman here is a turquoise studded headdress called perak. Some even attach a separate piece of cloth to the left side of the perak, decorated with up to ten vertical lines of coral ending in cowrie shells. Silver chains are used to hold the perak in place. Another piece of Ladakhi Jewellery worn by women here is called chatelaine, which is placed on their left shoulder. They also hang one or a pair of silver or brass disks, from the belt around the waist, which bears endless knot, from which six or seven lines of cowrie shells are strung with little bells at the end. Earrings here usually consist of beads like coral, turquoise, glass, and small fresh water pearls. The arrangements of these stones or pearls are also unique. In some cases, bead strands are attached to a metal ear stud, set with turquoises; some are attached to a metal hoop whose weight is supported by chains. There is another way where small strands of pearls pass over the ear top and their ends are fixed to the hair. Woman here wore at least two or three necklaces. A silver chest fibula is used to secure a heavy shoulder cloth or a shawl, which can be in round, rectangular or lozenge shape. This is beautifully ornamented with good luck symbols. Around their wrists, Ladakhi women wear conch shell bracelets, which are normally worn throughout the woman's life. Talking about men, they too wear silver or copper amulet boxes in variety of shapes, hoped earrings etc. Overall Ladakhi Jewellery forms an integral part of the lifestyle here.
Ladakh Handicrafts also holds a special place here. One of the signature style crafts includes Pattu and baskets. Pattu is a warm, rough woolen fabric while baskets are woven of willow twigs or particular kind of grass. Besides this, there are Thangka paintings; tie-dyed woolen shoes with leather soles, pashmina shawls, carpets, hand woven woolen clothes and hand prayer wheels are some of the prominent Ladakh Handicrafts. Apart from this, there are several artisans who work on silver, brass and copper to produce items like tea pots, tea cup stands, hookah base, lids, ladles and bowls etc. All these are part of Ladakh Handicrafts that are used for domestic purposes.
Martin Wynn
