Purse and chain
Purse and Chain
1800-1899 (made)
1800-1899 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Cypriot traditional jewellery is a rich mix of oriental design and Greek workmanship. Western pilgrims to the Holy Land frequently passed through Cyprus, and the Cypriot goldsmiths absorbed influences from Western Europe as well as Ottoman Turkey. Their work is similar to jewellery from elsewhere in the region, but the quality is often higher. They were famous for their filigree, often enriched with coloured enamels.
This case was described as a purse when it was acquired in 1903. Cases of this kind were worn by men in Cyprus to hold a variety of objects, and were probably intended to look like watch-cases. An expensive pocket watch was an essential accessory for wealthy men throughout the Ottoman Empire.
This case was described as a purse when it was acquired in 1903. Cases of this kind were worn by men in Cyprus to hold a variety of objects, and were probably intended to look like watch-cases. An expensive pocket watch was an essential accessory for wealthy men throughout the Ottoman Empire.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Purse and chain |
| Materials and techniques | Silver filigree with grey, ochre and purple filigree enamel |
| Brief description | Circular silver filigree case on a chain, with coloured enamel decoration, Cyprus, 19th century. |
| Physical description | Shallow cylindrical filigree case with hinged lid. The front and back are made of a disc of open filigree scrolls with applied rosettes of grey, ochre and purple filigree enamel, nine surrounding a larger one on each side. There is a band of rosettes on backgrounds of similarly coloured enamels round the sides of the case. The case hangs from a length of triple loop-in-loop chain, with a sharp hook at the end attached to a domed rosette of matching filigree enamel. There are two flat beads made from matching rosettes interspersed along the three chains. |
| Dimensions |
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| Summary | Cypriot traditional jewellery is a rich mix of oriental design and Greek workmanship. Western pilgrims to the Holy Land frequently passed through Cyprus, and the Cypriot goldsmiths absorbed influences from Western Europe as well as Ottoman Turkey. Their work is similar to jewellery from elsewhere in the region, but the quality is often higher. They were famous for their filigree, often enriched with coloured enamels. This case was described as a purse when it was acquired in 1903. Cases of this kind were worn by men in Cyprus to hold a variety of objects, and were probably intended to look like watch-cases. An expensive pocket watch was an essential accessory for wealthy men throughout the Ottoman Empire. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1443-1903 |
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| Record created | April 1, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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