Earring thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Earring

ca. 1820 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Once the prohibition against wearing jewels had passed in post-revolutionary France, light and delicate gold jewellery became fashionable. Inspired by traditional peasant jewellery, it used filigree, seed pearls and coloured stones, and in particular, carnelians.

Women’s dress had simplified with the influence of costume from classical Greece and Rome. Fine muslin fabrics draped the body, and a revealing low-cut bodice displayed coloured stones and filigree necklaces to good advantage. Hair was worn in a chignon (bun), with curls arranged around the forehead and face. With this style, women wore combs or tiaras and elongated hoop earrings, called ‘poissardes’ (French for ‘fishwives’).


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Earring
  • Earring
Materials and techniques
Gold and yellow topaz
Brief description
Pair of earrings of poissarde type, gold and yellow topaz, France about 1820.
Physical description
Earring (poissarde type), gold and yellow topaz.
Dimensions
  • Height: 4.1cm
  • Width: 3.3cm
  • Depth: 0.6cm
Credit line
Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Patricia V. Goldstein
Summary
Once the prohibition against wearing jewels had passed in post-revolutionary France, light and delicate gold jewellery became fashionable. Inspired by traditional peasant jewellery, it used filigree, seed pearls and coloured stones, and in particular, carnelians.

Women’s dress had simplified with the influence of costume from classical Greece and Rome. Fine muslin fabrics draped the body, and a revealing low-cut bodice displayed coloured stones and filigree necklaces to good advantage. Hair was worn in a chignon (bun), with curls arranged around the forehead and face. With this style, women wore combs or tiaras and elongated hoop earrings, called ‘poissardes’ (French for ‘fishwives’).
Other number
31 - Goldstein Collection number
Collection
Accession number
M.96:1, 2-2007

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Record createdMarch 13, 2008
Record URL
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