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

Earring

1839-1872 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The 1851 Great Exhibition inspired a series of ‘London International Exhibitions’ which took place in South Kensington in 1871, 1872, 1873 and 1874. Fine arts and scientific inventions and discoveries remained central display themes but each exhibition presented different aspects of manufacture. In 1872 one emphasis was on jewellery, including ‘peasant jewellery’. The Exhibition Commissioners arranged with the South Kensington Museum (later V&A) to make a collection of peasant jewellery from ‘all parts of the world, which should become public property, for exhibition in the Museum after the close of the Exhibition’. A letter was sent by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to British representatives overseas asking for their help in securing pieces of jewellery, particularly examples with ‘a direct connection with the native instinctive art, which has been handed down by a long tradition’. The outcome was considered to be ‘most satisfactory … a collection of characteristic ornaments never before equalled was obtained’.

This earring is part of this collection. It was made in Egypt, as the marks make clear, for use by the nomadic tribes of the region, who obtained all their jewellery from specialist urban silversmiths. Earrings in the region in the 19th century were particularly large, and are sometimes mistaken for bangles today. The large filigree bead is an early design which was later frequently replaced by a cube with truncated corners.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver filigree
Brief description
Silver hoop earring with loop and hook fastening, Egypt, 1839-1872.
Physical description
Hoop of thick silver wire with one end twisted to form a hook and the other a loop. Just behind the loop there is a large silver bead of crude filigree threaded on the wire, held in place by a length of twisted wire wrapped round the hoop behind it.
Dimensions
  • Height: 6.5cm
  • Width: 6.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • '٨٠' in square frame. (On side of wire.)
    Translation
    Mark for 800 standard silver.
    Transliteration
    80
  • '٨٠' with crescent and stylised lion in oval frame. (On side of wire.)
    Translation
    Mark for 800 standard silver, Egypt, c.1839-1920.
    Transliteration
    80
Object history
Acquired by the Exhibition Commissioners of the London International Exhibition of 1872 as an example of 'peasant jewellery' and then transferred to the South Kensington Museum.
Summary
The 1851 Great Exhibition inspired a series of ‘London International Exhibitions’ which took place in South Kensington in 1871, 1872, 1873 and 1874. Fine arts and scientific inventions and discoveries remained central display themes but each exhibition presented different aspects of manufacture. In 1872 one emphasis was on jewellery, including ‘peasant jewellery’. The Exhibition Commissioners arranged with the South Kensington Museum (later V&A) to make a collection of peasant jewellery from ‘all parts of the world, which should become public property, for exhibition in the Museum after the close of the Exhibition’. A letter was sent by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to British representatives overseas asking for their help in securing pieces of jewellery, particularly examples with ‘a direct connection with the native instinctive art, which has been handed down by a long tradition’. The outcome was considered to be ‘most satisfactory … a collection of characteristic ornaments never before equalled was obtained’.

This earring is part of this collection. It was made in Egypt, as the marks make clear, for use by the nomadic tribes of the region, who obtained all their jewellery from specialist urban silversmiths. Earrings in the region in the 19th century were particularly large, and are sometimes mistaken for bangles today. The large filigree bead is an early design which was later frequently replaced by a cube with truncated corners.
Bibliographic reference
List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington Museum, acquired during the year 1873, London: George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode
Collection
Accession number
1504-1873

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Record createdApril 4, 2003
Record URL
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