Earring
1815-1867 (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.
All Italian women wore gold earrings. The shapes varied widely in different places. This earring comes from the Papal States, but hoop earrings of various designs were common throughout Italy. It is made of gold filigree, which was a speciality of Italy in the 19th century.
It was bought as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
All Italian women wore gold earrings. The shapes varied widely in different places. This earring comes from the Papal States, but hoop earrings of various designs were common throughout Italy. It is made of gold filigree, which was a speciality of Italy in 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 | Gold filigree |
| Brief description | Gold filigree hoop earring, Papal States (Italy), 1815-1867. |
| Physical description | Gold hoop earring with hinged wire. The hoop is made from a band of filigree scrolls, interspersed with domes, in a plain frame. Inside the hoop is a pendant, shaped like a vase, of filigree scrolls. All the filigree is made of twisted wire. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | crossed keys with mitre above, in shield-shaped frame (On the wire.)
|
| 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. All Italian women wore gold earrings. The shapes varied widely in different places. This earring comes from the Papal States, but hoop earrings of various designs were common throughout Italy. It is made of gold filigree, which was a speciality of Italy in 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 3 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 45-1868 |
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| Record created | April 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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