Ear Ornament
c.1885 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
An ear ornament (koppu) worn at the top of the ear. The ornament is incomplete, lacking the top part which would be required to close it and secure it on the other side of the ear piercing. The centre has seven sockets which may originally have contained gems. Outside this are two concentric bands of intricate openwork ornament. There are also applied wire and granulation near the top. The pattern on the reverse of the disc is somewhat different, with a flower design at its centre instead of the sockets.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gold |
| Brief description | Ear ornament, gold, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, c.1885. |
| Physical description | An ear ornament (koppu) worn at the top of the ear. The ornament is incomplete, lacking the top part which would be required to close it and secure it on the other side of the ear piercing. The centre has seven sockets which may originally have contained gems. Outside this are two concentric bands of intricate openwork ornament. There are also applied wire and granulation near the top. The pattern on the reverse of the disc is somewhat different, with a flower design at its centre instead of the sockets. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Purchased from the Colonial and Indian Exhibition held in London in 1886 |
| Object history | Purchased from the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 1886; possibly bought in India for the exhibition by Casper Purdon Clarke in 1885. Placed in the Jewellery Room, Upper Galleries in the museum. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. |
| Production | A similar example in E.B. Havell, Journal of Indian Art and Industry, Vol. V1, no. 48 (1894) Pl.15, Fig.4 is described as 'an ear ornament, a variety of the koppu previously described, worn by Syrian Christians & Mappilas'. |
| Bibliographic reference | Indian Jewellery: The V&A Collection London: V&A Publishing, 2008 Number: ISBN 9781851774838
p. 20, pl.1.12 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.154-1886 |
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| Record created | December 8, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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