Earrings of this kind, with an enamelled black head wearing a white turban, are probably of Venetian origin. They were made not only in the area around Venice itself, but north to Trentino and east all around the Adriatic coast as far south as Croatia. They were often worn, by men as well as by women, as amulets. By the late 19th century this motif was also being used on brooches and tie pins. The shape of the headdress on these earrings is typical of those from Friuli.

The pearl drops may not be original. Pendants for Italian traditional earrings were often made separately, so that the plain earrings could be worn on working days, and the extravagant and sometimes fragile pendants added only on Sundays and festivals. However, these pearl pendants are of a totally different style and type of manufacture from this type of earring, which were traditionally worn without pendants.