Filigree Necklace
Necklace
ca. 1850 (made)
ca. 1850 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This gold necklace was one of the earliest Indian objects bought for what would become the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition as "modern" work from Calicut, and was bought for the considerable sum of £30 for the new South Kensington Museum as an example of the best international contemporary design. The jeweller has manipulated a relatively small amount of gold to maximum effect to create interlinked motifs of filigree to which very small elements have been applied. These were made by hammering pieces of thin sheet gold onto a metal die over shaped depressions thereby producing identical motifs.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Filigree Necklace |
Materials and techniques | Gold wire, with stamped florets and applied flat discs and hemispheres |
Brief description | Filigree necklace, made of gold wire with stamped florets, Calicut, India, ca. 1850. |
Physical description | Necklace consisting of several bands of florets linked both horizontally and vertically by wire. A flat clasp. |
Dimensions |
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Object history | This necklace was purchased by the South Kensington Museum from the Great Exhibition as an example of modern Indian work. It represented all the qualities the British commentators admired in Indian craftsmanship. |
Production | Kozhikode, Kerala |
Association | |
Summary | This gold necklace was one of the earliest Indian objects bought for what would become the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition as "modern" work from Calicut, and was bought for the considerable sum of £30 for the new South Kensington Museum as an example of the best international contemporary design. The jeweller has manipulated a relatively small amount of gold to maximum effect to create interlinked motifs of filigree to which very small elements have been applied. These were made by hammering pieces of thin sheet gold onto a metal die over shaped depressions thereby producing identical motifs. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | 124-1852 |
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Record created | December 21, 1999 |
Record URL |
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