Earring
20th century (made)
| Place of origin |
The pair of earrings is made of sheet silver which is partially fire-gilt on its face. It has a triangular section in the middle with an abstract arabesque floral and foliated openwork design above and below. The central triangular portion is mounted with an oval cornelian in a bezel setting. There are also decorative lines of beaded wirework applied to the front which has soldered double wire rings from which hang knitted wire chains terminating in silver leaflets. There is a soldered silver wire hook at the top of each earring.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Silver, fire-gilding, cornelian. Fire-gilding is typical of Teke tribal jewellery. Fire-gilding is applied to silver surfaces some of which may have been engraved in outline. An amalgam of gold dust mixed with mercury is applied with a brush and then heated, during which process the mercury evaporates leaving the gold bonded onto the silver ground. |
| Brief description | Pair of silver and gilded Teke tribal earrings from Afghanistan or Turkmenistan |
| Physical description | The pair of earrings is made of sheet silver which is partially fire-gilt on its face. It has a triangular section in the middle with an abstract arabesque floral and foliated openwork design above and below. The central triangular portion is mounted with an oval cornelian in a bezel setting. There are also decorative lines of beaded wirework applied to the front which has soldered double wire rings from which hang knitted wire chains terminating in silver leaflets. There is a soldered silver wire hook at the top of each earring. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Dr W. Ganguly |
| Object history | This pair of earrings is part of the large donation of Indian folk jewellery from Dr Waltraud Ganguly which was collected over the last few decades before her death in 2015 from dealers in both India and Europe, in parallel with extensive fieldwork she carried out in the Indian Sub-Continent. They were bought in February 2005 for 375 Euros. |
| Historical context | It was assumed by Dr Ganguly that this these ornaments were earrings but as Wolf-Dieter Seiwert asserts, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between Teke jewellery worn as ear jewellery or as temple ornaments, largely distinguishable owing to weight and length. Teke jewellery is worn as a prophylactic against evil spirits. Triangles pointing upwards invoke the 'World Mountain' invoking blessings from Heaven. Cornelians symbolize female fecundity. |
| Bibliographic reference | Seiwert, Wolf-Dieter, Jewellery from the Orient:Treasures from the Bir Collection, Arnoldsche, Stuttgart, 2009, p.228, 230 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | ME.48:1&2-2019 |
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| Record created | April 26, 2016 |
| Record URL |
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