Earring thumbnail 1
Earring thumbnail 2
+4
images
Not currently on display at the V&A

Earring

1800-1884 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The traditional jewellery of the Berber tribes of North Africa is almost always made of silver in heavy, clearly-defined shapes. Although individual pieces rarely date back any earlier than the 19th century, the designs are very old, and European observers liked to find traces of Roman or Phoenician influence.

Earrings in the 19th century were particularly large, and are sometimes mistaken for bangles today. The decorative bead in the centre would have made it very uncomfortable to wear these on the wrist, and the hook fastening is the kind which was always used for earrings, not bangles.

These were obtained in Cairo, and described as ‘Saracenic’ when they were acquired by the Museum in 1884. Egypt was the main production centre for jewellery for use by the nomadic tribes of the region, who obtained all their jewellery from specialist urban silversmiths.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Bracelet
  • Bracelet
Materials and techniques
Silver
Brief description
Pair of large silver hoop earrings with a hollow bead and triangles attached to the hoop, Egypt, 1800-1884.
Physical description
Pair of earrings, each consisting of a hoop of thick silver wire with one end twisted to form a hook and the other a loop. The lower portion of the hoop, just behind the loop, is decorated with a large hollow oval bead threaded on the hoop, with a short length of the hoop on either side of it wrapped in finer wire to hold it in place. The bead is lightly facetted all over and is decorated with a double band of gallery wire round its centre, and a small triangle, made of short lengths of coiled wire, attached at the bottom. There is a similar triangle attached to the lower edge of each of the bands of wire wrapped round the hoop.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 6.2cm
Object history
Bought from the collection of Gaston de Saint-Maurice (1831-1905) in 1884. Saint-Maurice displayed his extensive art collection at the 1878 Paris exhibition, in a gallery entitled L'Egypte des Khalifes. This was part of an official sequence of displays celebrating the history of Egypt, presented by the Egyptian state at this international event. Saint-Maurice held a position at the Khedival court, and had lived in Cairo in 1868-1878. Following the exhibition, Saint-Maurice offered his collection for sale to the South Kensington Museum (today the V&A).
Associations
Summary
The traditional jewellery of the Berber tribes of North Africa is almost always made of silver in heavy, clearly-defined shapes. Although individual pieces rarely date back any earlier than the 19th century, the designs are very old, and European observers liked to find traces of Roman or Phoenician influence.

Earrings in the 19th century were particularly large, and are sometimes mistaken for bangles today. The decorative bead in the centre would have made it very uncomfortable to wear these on the wrist, and the hook fastening is the kind which was always used for earrings, not bangles.

These were obtained in Cairo, and described as ‘Saracenic’ when they were acquired by the Museum in 1884. Egypt was the main production centre for jewellery for use by the nomadic tribes of the region, who obtained all their jewellery from specialist urban silversmiths.
Collection
Accession number
949&A-1884

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdApril 4, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest