Pair of bracelets

These bracelets were probably presented to Queen Victoria by Dr J. Tyler, superintendent of the Agra Jail, who brought to London the Indian artisans who demonstrated their skills at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in South Kensington in 1886. The queen thanked Tyler for the gift in a letter dated 20 September 1886 and informed him that she had worn the bracelets the previous evening. 

The Colonial and Indian Exhibition was organised at the instigation of the Prince of Wales, and occupied the site of the present Imperial College. It aimed to showcase the finest arts, architecture, manufactures and natural riches of the British Empire. Queen Victoria opened the exhibition at a ceremony in the Royal Albert Hall. It made a profit of £25,000, which was put towards the foundation of the Imperial (later Commonwealth) Institute in 1893.