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Amulet

Amulet
1850-1884 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Flat gold drop-shaped pendant with a border of pearls. The pendant is made from sheet gold stamped on each side with a six-sided star formed from two superimposed triangles, with Arabic inscriptions in the space between the points. A row of rings of twisted wire is attached to the rim, each of which has a seed pearl threaded on wire inside it, and a triangle of granules on its outermost point.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAmulet (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Stamped gold with gold filigree rim and seed pearls
Brief description
Tear-drop shaped sheet gold amulet with stamped decoration and Islamic inscription, with seed pearls, Egypt, 1850-1884.
Physical description
Flat gold drop-shaped pendant with a border of pearls. The pendant is made from sheet gold stamped on each side with a six-sided star formed from two superimposed triangles, with Arabic inscriptions in the space between the points. A row of rings of twisted wire is attached to the rim, each of which has a seed pearl threaded on wire inside it, and a triangle of granules on its outermost point.
Dimensions
  • Height: 7cm
  • Width: 5.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
(Inscription; decoration; Centre of the amulet)
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).
Subjects depicted
Associations
Collection
Accession number
942-1884

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Record createdApril 10, 2003
Record URL
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