Earring
1830-1867 (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 Sardinia, but the use of yellow gold filigree with red gold facings was common in all kinds of jewellery throughout central and southern Italy in the 19th century.
This earring has gold marks of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from the early 19th century. It was bought 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 Sardinia, but the use of yellow gold filigree with red gold facings was common in all kinds of jewellery throughout central and southern Italy in the 19th century.
This earring has gold marks of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from the early 19th century. It was bought as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Red and yellow gold, and filigree |
| Brief description | Gold earring with filigree pendant, Naples (Italy), 1830-1867. |
| Physical description | Earring with curved oval front of open filigree, with a hinged wire at the back. There is a pear-shaped open filigree pendant hanging from the wire, with a star cut out of sheet gold hanging from its base. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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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 Sardinia, but the use of yellow gold filigree with red gold facings was common in all kinds of jewellery throughout central and southern Italy in the 19th century. This earring has gold marks of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from the early 19th century. It was bought 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 11 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 300-1868 |
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| Record created | January 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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