Earring
1730-1799 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The pendent baskets of these earrings give only the slightest impression of what the whole earring would have originally looked like. In the 18th century, when they were made, Sicily was famous for its painted enamel jewellery, richly decorated with pearls and coloured stones. These pendants would have been hung from one or more large stylised bows draped with pearls and painted with matching enamel. These have later been replaced with plain silver-gilt curved wires with a discreet trefoil of pearls on the front.
The name ‘a panierino’ means shaped like little baskets.
The name ‘a panierino’ means shaped like little baskets.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Gold with painted enamel and pearl pendants, on a silver-gilt wire set with pearls |
| Brief description | Pair of gold pendent earrings (a panierino) with painted enamel baskets and pearls, Sicily (Italy), 1730-1799. |
| Physical description | Pair of enamelled gold pendent earrings with pearls. Each earring consists of a curved silver-gilt wire with a motif of three wired pearls in closed mounts arranged in a trefoil on its front. The pendant hangs from a ring below the pearls. It is shaped like a basket with a broad handle of turquoise enamel ovals. The body of the basket is made from four rosettes of painted enamel, alternating red on yellow and pink on white, with green leaves between them. The base of the basket is a turquoise enamel rosette. Seed pearl pendants hang from the top and bottom edges of the basket, from the centre of its base, and from the top of the handle. The pendant and the wire did not originally belong together. |
| Marks and inscriptions | Illegible mark in rectangular frame. (On side of wire.) |
| Credit line | Murray Bequest |
| Summary | The pendent baskets of these earrings give only the slightest impression of what the whole earring would have originally looked like. In the 18th century, when they were made, Sicily was famous for its painted enamel jewellery, richly decorated with pearls and coloured stones. These pendants would have been hung from one or more large stylised bows draped with pearls and painted with matching enamel. These have later been replaced with plain silver-gilt curved wires with a discreet trefoil of pearls on the front. The name ‘a panierino’ means shaped like little baskets. |
| Bibliographic reference | For a full account of these earrings, see:
Polizzi, Francesco, 'Splendori di Sicilia al Victoria and Albert Museum' (doctoral thesis), Palermo, 2011, p.165.
For similar examples, see:
Di Natale, Maria Concetta, 'Gioielli di Sicilia', Flaccovio Editore, Palermo, 2000, ISBN 8878041777, p.218; figs. 43-4. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.990&A-1910 |
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| Record created | September 9, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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