hardly
suit Occidental taste on account of its size and the inconvenience of
wearing it. A rather singular fact is that mirror-rings are sometimes
worn on the great toe, where they would seem to be quite useless; but
it has been suggested that as the Hindu women of the better class
commonly have their feet nearly or quite bare when in their apartments,
and have acquired the power to move and use their feet much more freely
than is the case with Occidentals, a toe mirror might possibly be of
some slight utility; still, it seems probable that they are purely
ornamental and came into fashion in imitation of the thumb-mirrors.
Many varieties of toe-rings are made, a special type being that for
wear on the middle toe.18
A
ring of an unusual form is worn on the great toe of the left foot by
some Hindu married women, as a distinguishing mark of the married
state. Men frequently wear a ring on the big toe for curative purposes,
or to augment their masculine vigor. These toe-rings of the men are not
generally closed circles, but open hoops, so that they can be easily
removed when this is desirable.19
The
art of the Persian goldsmith in the fifteenth century is displayed in a
ring belonging to one of the splendid collections of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, in New York. It is of massive form with an immense
bezel, richly decorated in openwork; the hoop is also elaborately
chased. The flat surface of the bezel is adorned with a design in
keeping with the ornamentation of its sides and of the hoop. For a
large and massive ring
18
Col. T. H. Hendley, " Indian Jewellery," Journal of Indian Art and
Industry, vol. xii, pp. 4, 5 ; 1907-1909. Figs. on plates 6, 7, 8, 15,
18.
19 Ibid., p. 103.
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