Earring
1750-1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
These earrings were described as 17th century Sicilian when they were acquired by the Museum in 1910, probably on account of their painted enamel and use of pendent pearls which are typical of Sicilian gold jewellery of that period.
They are more likely to come from the area around Venice and the eastern coasts of the Adriatic, where earrings such as these, with pendants representing a highly stylised jar and always with the same core design however much overlaid with additional elements, were part of the traditional costume up to the early 20th century. Earrings with these jar-shaped pendants are also found in the Greek islands of the Aegean, such as the Cyclades and Dodecanese, where they are sometimes enamelled.
They are more likely to come from the area around Venice and the eastern coasts of the Adriatic, where earrings such as these, with pendants representing a highly stylised jar and always with the same core design however much overlaid with additional elements, were part of the traditional costume up to the early 20th century. Earrings with these jar-shaped pendants are also found in the Greek islands of the Aegean, such as the Cyclades and Dodecanese, where they are sometimes enamelled.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Gold, enamelled in red, blue, white and green, with pearl pendants and a silver wire |
| Brief description | Pair of enamelled gold pendent earrings, hung with pearls, on a silver wire, Venice (Italy), 1750-1850. |
| Physical description | Pair of gold enamelled pendent earrings with pearl drops and silver wires. Each earring consists of a hoop of wire, open in one place, with a loop at one end and a hook at the other. The lower part of the hoop is covered with a sheath of thin sheet gold, decorated with gold ribbons and applied wire, and red, blue, green and white enamel. There are four pendants, each of two pearls arranged vertically on a wire, hanging from the lower edge. The main pendant hangs from the centre of this sheath. It is shaped like a stylised vase with a wide shallow sphere at the base and an open filigree bead at the top joined to it by a plain collar. Four struts of flat ribbon link the perimeters of each sphere on the outside. There is a white enamel rosette on the top of the bottom sphere, between the struts, and the base of the bottom sphere is decorated with blue and white enamel. The struts are enamelled green. There are eight pearl pendants, like those attached to the top part of the earring, hanging from the circumference of the bottom sphere, and a ninth from the centre of its base. |
| Credit line | Murray Bequest |
| Summary | These earrings were described as 17th century Sicilian when they were acquired by the Museum in 1910, probably on account of their painted enamel and use of pendent pearls which are typical of Sicilian gold jewellery of that period. They are more likely to come from the area around Venice and the eastern coasts of the Adriatic, where earrings such as these, with pendants representing a highly stylised jar and always with the same core design however much overlaid with additional elements, were part of the traditional costume up to the early 20th century. Earrings with these jar-shaped pendants are also found in the Greek islands of the Aegean, such as the Cyclades and Dodecanese, where they are sometimes enamelled. |
| Bibliographic reference | For similar Italian earrings, see:
Pazzi, Piero, ‘Gioielli delle Bocche di Cattaro: Perasto, Dobrota, Scagliari e Perzagno’, Venice, 2010, pp.12, 99.
Gri, Gian Paolo, Cantarutti, ‘La collezione Perusini: ori, gioielli e amuleti tradizionali’, Casamassima, 1997, p.109.
Luca, Stefano de (ed.), ‘L’Ornamento prezioso’, Rome, De Luca/Milano, Mondadori, 1986, tab.53.
For Greek examples, see:
Historical & Ethnological Society of Greece, ‘Greek costumes’, Athens, 1993, pp.50-51.
Delivorrias, Angelos, ‘Greek Traditional Jewelry’, Athens, Melissa Publishing House/Benaki Museum, 1979, reprinted 1999. ISBN 9602040513, p.26.
Historical & Ethnological Society of Greece, ‘Kosmimata tis Ellinikis paradosiakis foresias 1800-1900’, Athens, 1995, p.52. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.988&A-1910 |
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| Record created | September 9, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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