The exhibition is an exotic and eclectic mix of jewellery and artifacts. At the front of the gallery there are glass display cabinets full of jewellery - old, new, designer, reworked and original. Further back there are alcoves full of artifacts from many world cultures, ancient and modern.

The gallery and the in-house designs are the personal vision of Sheila Dhariwal. She collects from around the world, makes jewellery from the beads and stones she finds, and buys original pieces, artifacts and furniture. This is a selling exhibition with pieces from £1 for a child's ocarina (modern and fairly traded) to £1,500 for a West African historical Dogon door.

There's an immense range. Here are original Ethiopian liturgical crosses and jewellery. Close by is modern vegetable ivory developed from a particular palm tree seed, hardened, sliced and dyed. Most of the jewels are grouped by colour. There is black onyx and agate of Afghan design, and jewellery reworked in-house from ancient Roman glass beads into necklaces with a multicoloured rainbow patina. There are small birds and vessels in similar glass which are not of archaeological value, but unique. Agar wood (mentioned in the Bible), peachy-brown fossilised coral and green amethyst are displayed in adjacent cabinets. There are antique bohemian glass beads in new designs, Polish designer silver, amber and lapis lazuli sourced from the 5,000-year-old mine in Afghanistan used by King Tutankhamen.

Many pieces are original, of uncertain date and unique. A Tibetan beadwork collar of turquoise, white, amber, carnelian and coral would not look out of place in a modern fashion show. The silver bracelet which accompanies it is so finely made - even on the back which is not normally seen - that a powerful magnifying glass would not be able to detect exactly how the turquoise has been inlaid. There are purple amethyst, rubies, and jewels from the nomadic Saharan Tuareg tribes.

Behind the jewellery are the artifacts - scarves from Laos, Vietnamese lacquerware, Dogon masks. The atmosphere is heavy with scent from wooden stick diffusers which are dipped in perfume and turned upside down. Chinese boxes, Thai bronze Buddhas and Kalumkari penwork from India sit alongside singing bowls and an antique shaman's headdress from North Vietnam. It's an intriguing exhibition, fusing influences from the spiritual power of a small thin Dogon bronze figure to the practicality of Moroccan leather bags - a brilliant sensory experience.

Credits: Gallery Owner and Designer - Sheila Dhariwal. Website - www.galeriemirages.co.uk

END

(c) Peter Andrews 2008

reviewed Monday 4 August 08 / Galeries Mirages, Edinburgh

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com