Ornament
1840-1860 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This gilt ornament is one of an original pair which would have been worn on the sides of the head by a Moroccan woman. The ornament is formed of an open hoop decorated with five drop pendants. The hoop is attached, by means of a chain, to a heart-shaped pendant set with coloured glass and with two further drop pendants. The heart-shaped piece would have been hooked onto a headdress with the hoop hanging from it at approximately ear level. The most decorative part of the hoop could be seen from the front.
The Museum of Ornamental Art (later the Victoria and Albert Museum) purchased the pair at the ‘Exposition Universelle’ in Paris in 1867. The series of international exhibitions held between 1852 and 1900 provided the Museum’s curators with key opportunities to acquire contemporary manufactures.
The Museum of Ornamental Art (later the Victoria and Albert Museum) purchased the pair at the ‘Exposition Universelle’ in Paris in 1867. The series of international exhibitions held between 1852 and 1900 provided the Museum’s curators with key opportunities to acquire contemporary manufactures.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver-gilt set with orange, green and red pastes, with green and red glass beads and one seed pearl |
| Brief description | Large silver-gilt hoop earring set with coloured pastes with a hook and chain attached, Morocco, 1840-1860. |
| Physical description | Large penannular silver-gilt earring with five pendants and a suspension hook attached by a short chain. The hoop is a hollow tube, engraved with a stylised floral pattern, with a point at one end and a rounded cap at the other. It is decorated on the front with five square pastes, alternating green and red (two missing), in fluted mounts, and on the side with one larger drop-shaped green paste. There is a ring below each of the square pastes from which hang the pendants. Each pendant consists of a closed hollow cone with repousse arabesque decoration. The central pendant ends in a facetted green glass bead, and the others each had a small pearl, only one of which remains. There is a loop above the paste on the side of the hoop which holds a compact loop-in-loop chain ending in a heart-shaped plaque with arabesque engraving set with three pastes, one orange and two green. There is a long hook attached to the top of the heart, and two conical pendants ending in red glass beads hanging from its lower edge. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Accessions register entry - 'Earring. One of a pair. Gilt metal hoop with five drop pendants and one heart-shaped ornament hanging from a chain all set with coloured pastes. Modern Moorish. (Paris Exhibition 1867). £2.0.0. the pair.' Pair earring (590A-1868) was NIP and has now been written off. |
| Historical context | The Museum of Ornamental Art (later the Victoria and Albert Museum) purchased the pair at the 'Exposition Universelle' in Paris in 1867. The series of international exhibitions held between 1852 and 1900 provided the Museum's curators with key opportunities to acquire contemporary manufactures. |
| Summary | This gilt ornament is one of an original pair which would have been worn on the sides of the head by a Moroccan woman. The ornament is formed of an open hoop decorated with five drop pendants. The hoop is attached, by means of a chain, to a heart-shaped pendant set with coloured glass and with two further drop pendants. The heart-shaped piece would have been hooked onto a headdress with the hoop hanging from it at approximately ear level. The most decorative part of the hoop could be seen from the front. The Museum of Ornamental Art (later the Victoria and Albert Museum) purchased the pair at the ‘Exposition Universelle’ in Paris in 1867. The series of international exhibitions held between 1852 and 1900 provided the Museum’s curators with key opportunities to acquire contemporary manufactures. |
| Associated object | 590A-1868 (Set) |
| Bibliographic reference | Illustrated in:
'Italian Jewellery as worn by The Peasants of Italy. Collected by Signor Castellani, and purchased from the Paris Universal Exhibition for The South Kensington Museum', London, Arundel Society for Promoting the Knowledge of Art, 1868, plate 12, 'Peasant Jewellery. Modern Turkish, Norwegian, Danish', where it and its original pair were described as:
'Bracelets from Morocco as worn at the present day. Bought at the Paris Exhibition, 1867. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 590-1868 |
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| Record created | April 4, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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