Shripech

{{Short description|Royal Crown of the Kingdom of Nepal}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{infobox crown |image = Crown of Kingdom of Nepal "श्रीपेच".jpg |primary_material = {{hlist|Gold|Silver}} |nation = {{flag|Kingdom of Nepal}} |weight = {{convert|2|kg|lb|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|title=श्रीपेच कुहिंदै|url=http://samudrapari.com/2012/02/12796/|website=समुद्रपारी|accessdate=13 November 2020}}</ref> |arches = |date_made = {{Plainlist| * {{circa|1816}} (modern form) * {{circa|15th century}} (early form) }} |owner = Government of Nepal |stones = {{hlist|Diamond|Emerald|Pearl|Ruby}} |other_elements = Tail feather of the greater bird-of-paradise |heraldic=|name=Shripech|caption=The Shripech at the Narayanhiti Museum|successors=Rana crown}}

The '''Shripech''' or '''Shreepech''' ({{langx|ne|श्रीपेच}}) was the coronation crown of the Kingdom of Nepal, traditionally worn by Nepalese monarchs.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Renu Lall|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AyBuAAAAMAAJ|title=Crown and Coronation in Nepal|date=1975|publisher=His Majesty's Government of Nepal, Ministry of Communication, Department of Information|pages=1|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=19 March 2012|title=With monarchy gone, Nepali crown to find new home|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nepal-crown-museum-idUSBRE82I0LJ20120319|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref> During the Rana rule, a special variant of the Shripech, known as the Rana crown, was also created for members of the aristocratic Rana family to wear as a ceremonial headpiece. [[File:Nepal Royal Crown (Shripech)-श्रीपेच.png|thumb|262x262px|The Shripech in heraldry.]] The Shripech has been displayed at the Narayanhiti Palace Museum since 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nepal puts royal crown on display|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/nepal-puts-royal-crown-on-display-1.2290255|access-date=27 November 2021|website=Gulf News|language=en}}</ref> It consists of more than 3,000 precious stones, including 723 diamonds, 2,372 pearls, 48 emeralds, and 16 rubies.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Poudel|first=Umesh|date=16 October 2018|title=Former kings' crown goes on display|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/former-kings-crown-goes-on-display|access-date=27 November 2021|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en}}</ref>

== History == <gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200"> File:King Rajendra Bikram Shah Deva.jpg|Rajendra Bikram Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech, first to feature the feather of the greater bird-of-paradise, c. 1816–1847. </gallery>Although there is no definitive evidence regarding when the Shripech was created, Rajendra Bikram Shah was the first King of Nepal to feature the large tail feather of the greater bird-of-paradise on the crown. <gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200"> File:Pratap singha shah (cropped).jpg|Pratap Singh Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech during the early Kingdom of Nepal, c. 1775–1777. </gallery>Earlier version of the Shripech had a similar design, but instead of the large tail feather of the greater bird-of-paradise, they featured a shorter feather. These earlier forms were worn by monarchs of both the Kingdom of Nepal and the Kingdom of Gorkha. Over time, the design evolved into the modern Shripech, which became a distinctive symbol of the Nepalese monarchy and was traditionally worn during important state and coronation ceremonies.

== Description == <gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200"> File:King Mahendra of Nepal.jpg|Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah wearing the modern form of the Shripech during his coronation, 1956. </gallery>Apart from the ''Kalki'' (a large tail feather of the greater bird-of-paradise), the Shripech is adorned with diamonds, pearls, rubies, Navaratnas, gold, and silver. On 29 June 1965, while recording the details of the Shripech handed over by the Government of Nepal, officials of the [https://ngscba.org/ Nepal Gold and Silver Business Association] prepared a report stating that large quantities of diamonds, rubies, Navaratnas, and gold have been used in its construction, while silver made up the largest portion. The total estimated value of the Shripech is around $60 million (2024).

== Shripech gallery == <gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200"> File:King Ram Shah.jpg|alt=Ram Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech during the Kingdom of Gorkha, c. 1606–1636.|Ram Shah, c. 1606–1636. File:Rudra Shah.jpg|alt=Rudra Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech during the Kingdom of Gorkha, c. 1661–1673.|Rudra Shah, c. 1661–1673. File:Prithvi Narayan Shah.jpg|alt=Prithvi Narayan Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech during the early Kingdom of Nepal, c. 1743–1775.|Prithvi Narayan Shah, c. 1743–1775. File:Pratap singha shah (cropped).jpg|alt=Pratap Singh Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech during the early Kingdom of Nepal, c. 1775–1777.|Pratap Singh Shah, c. 1775–1777. File:Rana Bahadur Shah.jpg|alt=Rana Bahadur Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech during the early Kingdom of Nepal, c. 1777–1799.|Rana Bahadur Shah, c. 1777–1799. File:Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah.jpg|alt=Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech during the early Kingdom of Nepal, c. 1799–1816.|Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah, c. 1799–1816. File:King Rajendra Bikram Shah Deva.jpg|alt=Rajendra Bikram Shah wearing an early form of the Shripech, first to feature the tail feather of the greater bird-of-paradise, c. 1816–1847.|Rajendra Bikram Shah, c. 1816–1847. File:Surendra Bikram Shah.jpg|alt=Surendra Bikram Shah wearing the modern form of the Shripech, c. 1847–1881.|Surendra Bikram Shah, c. 1847–1881. File:Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah.jpg|alt=Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah wearing the modern form of the Shripech, c. 1881–1911.|Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah, c. 1881–1911. File:Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah.jpg|alt=Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah wearing the modern form of the Shripech, c. 1911–1955.|Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, c. 1911–1955. File:Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah.jpg|alt=Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah wearing the modern form of the Shripech, c. 1955–1972.|Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah, c. 1955–1972. File:Birendra Bir Bikram Shah.jpg|alt=Birendra Bir Bikram Shah wearing the modern form of the Shripech, c. 1972–2001.|Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, c. 1972–2001. </gallery>

== Rana crown == <gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200"> File:Jeweled crown with Bird of Paradise feather plume Rana dynasty Nepal 1900 CE (45579711425).jpg|Gem-set Rana Crown (turban style), c. mid-19th century. </gallery>During the Rana rule, a special variant of the Shripech, known as the Rana crown, was created for members of the Rana aristocracy to wear as a ceremonial headpiece.<gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200"> File:Padma Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana.png|Padma Shumsher Rana wearing an late form of the Rana crown, c. 1945–1948. </gallery>Apart from the plume of the bird-of-paradise, the Rana crown is adorned with diamonds, colored glass, emeralds, gold brocade, navaratnas, pearls, rubies, along with a silver badge featuring the Nepalese coat of arms and the national motto in Devanagari script at the front. While the Shripech uses the long tail feathers of the greater bird-of-paradise, the Rana crown uses the tail feathers of bird-of-paradise, symbolizing the greater status of the Shripech. Several similar crowns were made for different members of the Rana family. While the main version was reserved for the head of the Rana family, the Rana Prime Ministers of Kingdom of Nepal.

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shreepech}} Category:Crowns (headgear) Category:Nepalese monarchy Category:Culture of Nepal