Earring
ca. 1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Earrings were popular among all the Slav peoples, from Russia to the Balkans. Women frequently hooked the wires into their headdress, just behind the ear, rather than into the ear lobe itself, because of the weight.
The circular wire and hinged pendants with coral beads on this earring are characteristic of traditional earrings throughout the Slav region. It was described as modern Turkish work, when the V&A acquired it in 1867, but was probably made in the Balkans. As much of the Balkans was still part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, this is not a contradiction.
Originally it was part of a pair, joined by a silver chain. A few links of this chain still remain, attached to the top of the earring. Slav earrings are often joined together by a long chain, which hangs under the chin. It was bought for £2 3s. 4d. (the pair) at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
The circular wire and hinged pendants with coral beads on this earring are characteristic of traditional earrings throughout the Slav region. It was described as modern Turkish work, when the V&A acquired it in 1867, but was probably made in the Balkans. As much of the Balkans was still part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, this is not a contradiction.
Originally it was part of a pair, joined by a silver chain. A few links of this chain still remain, attached to the top of the earring. Slav earrings are often joined together by a long chain, which hangs under the chin. It was bought for £2 3s. 4d. (the pair) at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver gilt with applied filigree decoration, with corals, stones and pastes, and chain |
| Brief description | Silver-gilt and filigree multi-part earring, decorated with corals and pastes, Balkans, c.1850. |
| Physical description | Hoop earring with decorative plate at the front set with a red stone, with a pendant of three plaques below it, hanging down vertically below each other, increasing in size and ending in a pendant amethyst-coloured stone. All parts are decorated with applied granules or rings of twisted wire, red and green pastes, and pendants of turquoise paste and coral beads. Short length of figure-of-eight chain attached, with ring of twisted wire round the centre of each link. |
| Dimensions |
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| Summary | Earrings were popular among all the Slav peoples, from Russia to the Balkans. Women frequently hooked the wires into their headdress, just behind the ear, rather than into the ear lobe itself, because of the weight. The circular wire and hinged pendants with coral beads on this earring are characteristic of traditional earrings throughout the Slav region. It was described as modern Turkish work, when the V&A acquired it in 1867, but was probably made in the Balkans. As much of the Balkans was still part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, this is not a contradiction. Originally it was part of a pair, joined by a silver chain. A few links of this chain still remain, attached to the top of the earring. Slav earrings are often joined together by a long chain, which hangs under the chin. It was bought for £2 3s. 4d. (the pair) at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867. |
| Bibliographic reference | Illustrated in:
'Italian Jewellery as worn by The Peasants of Italy. Collected by Signor Castellani, and purchased from the Paris Universal Exhibition for The South Kensington Museum', London, Arundel Society for Promoting the Knowledge of Art, 1868, plate 12, 'Peasant Jewellery. Modern Turkish, Norwegian, Danish', where it and its pair were included under:
'A collection of Modern Turkish Popular Jewellery. Bought in the Turkish section of the Paris Exhibition, 1867.’ |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 580-1868 |
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| Record created | September 22, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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