Earring
1800-1867 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Italian women have always loved lavish display. Even for the poorest, a rich show of jewellery was all important. Italian goldsmiths were expert at making a little material go a very long way. Many pieces seem too large to wear comfortably, but they are usually made of very thin gold, and are much lighter than they appear.
All Italian women wore gold earrings. Their shapes varied widely in different places. This earring comes from Genoa, but could have been worn anywhere in Italy. Genoa was one of the most important centres for popular jewellery in the 19th century, and it is notable that most of the Genoese pieces in the Castellani collection are individually priced.
It was bought for £1 16s. (the pair) as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
All Italian women wore gold earrings. Their shapes varied widely in different places. This earring comes from Genoa, but could have been worn anywhere in Italy. Genoa was one of the most important centres for popular jewellery in the 19th century, and it is notable that most of the Genoese pieces in the Castellani collection are individually priced.
It was bought for £1 16s. (the pair) as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Sheet gold and gold filigree |
| Brief description | Red and yellow gold pendant earring, Genoa (Italy), 1800-1867. |
| Physical description | Gold pendant earring. The hinged wire has a hollow shuttle-shaped faceted front, from which hangs a stylised bow with central faceted boss. This supports an oval frame decorated with hollow faceted bosses, with a smaller frame of yellow gold filigree hanging inside it. It probably originally had another pendant in the centre. |
| Dimensions |
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| Summary | Italian women have always loved lavish display. Even for the poorest, a rich show of jewellery was all important. Italian goldsmiths were expert at making a little material go a very long way. Many pieces seem too large to wear comfortably, but they are usually made of very thin gold, and are much lighter than they appear. All Italian women wore gold earrings. Their shapes varied widely in different places. This earring comes from Genoa, but could have been worn anywhere in Italy. Genoa was one of the most important centres for popular jewellery in the 19th century, and it is notable that most of the Genoese pieces in the Castellani collection are individually priced. It was bought for £1 16s. (the pair) as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867. |
| Bibliographic reference | 'Italian Jewellery as worn by the Peasants of Italy', Arundel Society, London, 1868, Plate 1 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 409-1868 |
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| Record created | December 21, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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