Necklace
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, and are much lighter than they appear.
The dominant colours in Italian traditional jewellery are red and gold. In the south the jewellers often used coral, but garnets were more common in the north. The garnets in this necklace almost certainly have metallic foil behind them, to improve their colour.
It was bought as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
The dominant colours in Italian traditional jewellery are red and gold. In the south the jewellers often used coral, but garnets were more common in the north. The garnets in this necklace almost certainly have metallic foil behind them, to improve their colour.
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 | Flat-cut garnets mounted in gold wire |
| Brief description | Gold necklace set with garnets, Samnium (Italy), 1800-1867. |
| Physical description | Necklace consisting of 73 oval interlocking segments, with matching snap clasp. Each segment is made from a flat-cut garnet in a closed toothed setting resting on a rim of twisted wire. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production | Worn in Samnium |
| 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, and are much lighter than they appear. The dominant colours in Italian traditional jewellery are red and gold. In the south the jewellers often used coral, but garnets were more common in the north. The garnets in this necklace almost certainly have metallic foil behind them, to improve their colour. 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 9 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 194-1868 |
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| Record created | April 3, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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