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

Earring

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

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, or gilded metal, and are much lighter than they appear.

All Italian women wore gold earrings. Their shapes varied widely in different places. This earring was acquired in southern Italy, but the design is not distinctive. Although it is marked on the wire, it is probably made of gilded metal, not gold. Marks like this are more typical of French goldsmiths, rather than Italian. It may have been imported from France, or possibly made in Italy when the country was under French administration at the beginning of the 19th century.

It was bought as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gilded sheet metal
Brief description
Gilt earring with hollow pendant ball, Southern Italy, 1800-1867.
Physical description
Earring with a hinged wire, and a small hollow domed button on the front, in which the end of the wire catches. From the wire hangs a hollow spherical pendant, made of two halves soldered together vertically.
Dimensions
  • Length: 3.7cm
  • Diameter: 1.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
illegible mark in square frame (On each side of the wire)
Translation
Possibly French mark for plated metal
Production
Worn in the southern provinces and Sicily
Summary
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, or gilded metal, and are much lighter than they appear.

All Italian women wore gold earrings. Their shapes varied widely in different places. This earring was acquired in southern Italy, but the design is not distinctive. Although it is marked on the wire, it is probably made of gilded metal, not gold. Marks like this are more typical of French goldsmiths, rather than Italian. It may have been imported from France, or possibly made in Italy when the country was under French administration at the beginning of the 19th century.

It was bought as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
Bibliographic reference
'Italian Jewellery as worn by the Peasants of Italy', Arundel Society, London, 1868, Plate 11
Collection
Accession number
297-1868

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Record createdJanuary 30, 2009
Record URL
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