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Hair pin
Unknown - Enlarge image
Hair pin
- Place of origin:
Dalmatia, Croatia (made)
- Date:
1850-1900 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Silver-gilt filigree with a coral bead
- Credit Line:
Given by B. H. Jackson
- Museum number:
CIRC.39-1951
- Gallery location:
Jewellery, room 91 mezzanine, case 77, shelf D, box 2
Dalmatian goldsmiths were famous throughout the Balkans for their fine work. They lived in cities such as Dubrovnik, and specialised in gilding and filigree.
In the 19th century Dalmatia was a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It stretched from Trieste (now in Italy) to the borders of modern Albania. The traditional jewellery shows traces of the many cultures which influenced the region. On the coast, which had never been part of the Ottoman Empire, the women used elaborate filigree hair pins, like those worn in northern Italy, when wearing traditional costume.
Dalmatian filigree hairpins are usually very large and heavy, compared to those from elsewhere in Europe. They often have a band of decorative wire round the middle, which is rare for Italian hair pins.
