Necklace thumbnail 1
Necklace thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Necklace

1800-1867 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The dominant colours in Italian traditional jewellery are red and gold. Coral was the most popular material for necklaces, but garnets were also sometimes used, as here. Most Italian traditional necklaces are made of beads, in designs which have been worn for centuries.

In the 19th century Italian women usually used silk ribbons to fasten their necklaces and pendants, but these ribbons were fragile and easily destroyed. Only a trace of the purple ribbons which once fastened this necklace now remains.

This necklace was bought for £4 as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Garnet beads with silver terminals and purple silk ribbon
Brief description
Necklace of garnet beads with silver terminals, Parma (Italy), 1800-1867.
Physical description
Necklace of ten graduated strings of uncut or roughly faceted garnets, with a flat pierced silver terminal at each end. Traces of a purple ribbon attached to each terminal. Thread broken.
Dimensions
  • Shortest length length: 31cm
  • From top string to bottom string, at centre width: 8.7cm
  • Depth: 0.3cm
Summary
The dominant colours in Italian traditional jewellery are red and gold. Coral was the most popular material for necklaces, but garnets were also sometimes used, as here. Most Italian traditional necklaces are made of beads, in designs which have been worn for centuries.

In the 19th century Italian women usually used silk ribbons to fasten their necklaces and pendants, but these ribbons were fragile and easily destroyed. Only a trace of the purple ribbons which once fastened this necklace now remains.

This necklace was bought for £4 as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
Bibliographic references
  • 'Italian Jewellery as worn by the Peasants of Italy', Arundel Society, London, 1868, Plate 2
  • For a later example, showing the same use of multiple strands of facetted garnet beads, see: Catalogue, ‘l'Ornamento Prezioso’, Rome/Milan, 1986, Tab.24, fig. 108
Collection
Accession number
343-1868

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Record createdOctober 17, 2008
Record URL
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