Clasp
Clasp
1750-1850 (made)
1750-1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Throughout the lands of the former Ottoman Empire, from the north Balkans to the Caucasus, large and elaborate waist clasps were the most important item in a woman’s dowry. The women who owned them sewed them onto cloth belts which they made themselves, usually richly embroidered.
Cypriot clasps are part of the general Ottoman tradition, but are often more sophisticated and decorative than those from elsewhere. The goldsmiths of Cyprus were famous for their filigree work, often enriched with blue and green enamels. They rarely marked their work. This clasp was described as 18th century when it was acquired, and this may be true. It was bought in 1888, just after a terrible famine, when many people had to sell their family heirlooms to survive.
Cypriot clasps are part of the general Ottoman tradition, but are often more sophisticated and decorative than those from elsewhere. The goldsmiths of Cyprus were famous for their filigree work, often enriched with blue and green enamels. They rarely marked their work. This clasp was described as 18th century when it was acquired, and this may be true. It was bought in 1888, just after a terrible famine, when many people had to sell their family heirlooms to survive.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Title | Clasp (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Repousse and cast silver, partly gilded, with black and green filigree enamel and red and green pastes |
| Brief description | Two-part silver clasp, partly gilded, with black and green filigree enamel and green and red pastes, Cyprus, 1750-1850. |
| Physical description | Two-part silver clasp with applied filigree enamel decoration. Each part is pear-shaped, with repousse scroll decoration round the outside. The edge is scalloped, with green pastes mounted between the curves, and a cast gilded strip of pierced scrolls added on the rim. The centre of each part has an appliqué of green and black filigree enamel leaves, with a green paste in the centre surrounded by smaller red and green pastes. The back of each part has two flat bars for attachment, one decorated with curved edges and engraved lines. One part has a curved sideways hook on the inside rim, and the other has a corresponding loop. |
| Dimensions |
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| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Throughout the lands of the former Ottoman Empire, from the north Balkans to the Caucasus, large and elaborate waist clasps were the most important item in a woman’s dowry. The women who owned them sewed them onto cloth belts which they made themselves, usually richly embroidered. Cypriot clasps are part of the general Ottoman tradition, but are often more sophisticated and decorative than those from elsewhere. The goldsmiths of Cyprus were famous for their filigree work, often enriched with blue and green enamels. They rarely marked their work. This clasp was described as 18th century when it was acquired, and this may be true. It was bought in 1888, just after a terrible famine, when many people had to sell their family heirlooms to survive. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1527&A-1888 |
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| Record created | March 28, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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