Chain
18th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Russian men and women of all ranks wore long chains of heavy silver filigree. By the 19th century these chains had fallen out of fashion. Only priests, and people who wore traditional dress, continued to use them. It is impossible to date these chains accurately, as they remained unchanged for centuries, and are rarely marked.
Russian filigree chains are usually made from scrolls of wire soldered together side by side to make individual links. This chain has links of four scrolls each, but wide chains can have as many as eight. At each end it has a distinctive terminal with a large loop. Originally these loops would have been joined by a U-shaped link to hold a cross or pendant.
Russian filigree chains are usually made from scrolls of wire soldered together side by side to make individual links. This chain has links of four scrolls each, but wide chains can have as many as eight. At each end it has a distinctive terminal with a large loop. Originally these loops would have been joined by a U-shaped link to hold a cross or pendant.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver filigree |
| Brief description | Long silver chain with filigree links, Russia, 18th century. |
| Physical description | Long chain made from links of wire, twisted into a figure-of-eight and soldered together side by side, four at a time. The links are joined to each other by four rings of plain wire. At each end the final link is squeezed into a triangular shape, with a flat ring at the apex. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Summary | In the 17th and 18th centuries, Russian men and women of all ranks wore long chains of heavy silver filigree. By the 19th century these chains had fallen out of fashion. Only priests, and people who wore traditional dress, continued to use them. It is impossible to date these chains accurately, as they remained unchanged for centuries, and are rarely marked. Russian filigree chains are usually made from scrolls of wire soldered together side by side to make individual links. This chain has links of four scrolls each, but wide chains can have as many as eight. At each end it has a distinctive terminal with a large loop. Originally these loops would have been joined by a U-shaped link to hold a cross or pendant. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 149-1906 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | March 7, 2008 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
