Italian women have always loved lavish display. Even for the poorest, a rich show of jewellery was all important. Italian goldsmiths were expert at making a little material go a very long way. Many pieces seem too large to wear comfortably, but they are usually made of very thin gold, and are much lighter than they appear.

All Italian women wore gold earrings. Their shapes varied widely in different places. This earring comes from the south of Italy. Earrings like this are called ‘a navicella’ in Italian, meaning boat-shaped, and are extremely common throughout the southern regions and Sicily. Originally this one would have had pendants hanging from the five rings at the bottom.