Fibula thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Fibula

1850-1890 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This silver fibula would have been worn by a Kabyle woman in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Kabyles are a Berber people from the Atlas Mountains in North Eastern Algeria. The front and back are decorated with a pattern of silver wire forming spaces filled with enamel or coral. To one side of the brooch is a fixed pin with an open ring that would have been used to attach the brooch. It was originally one of a pair, which were worn on the front of the body, just below the shoulders, to hold the wearer’s dress together. The two fibulae would have been linked by a chain attached to the loop at the top.

This brooch was probably made by a Jewish silversmith. In the late fifteenth century many Jewish people immigrated to North Africa. The Jewish population dominated the silversmithing profession and bought with them many new jewellery techniques (such as enamelling) which they handed down from generation to generation.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver enamelled on both sides in dark blue, green and ochre and set with coral cabochons
Brief description
Silver fibula (Ibzimen) with triangular enamelled head set with corals, Kabyle (Algeria), 1850-1890.
Physical description
Silver fibula pin with penannular guard ring. The pin has a flat triangular head and is decorated on both sides with black, green and ochre cloisonné enamel in applied filigree surrounds. The front is also set with seven corals in closed mounts. There is a loop riveted to the top of the triangle. The pin is also riveted to the head, at the bottom, and has a loop at its top for the guard. The ring guard is made of thick wire and has a flat coral in a closed mount at each end.
Dimensions
  • Maximum width: 8.7cm
  • Maximum length: 18.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Transliteration
Summary
This silver fibula would have been worn by a Kabyle woman in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Kabyles are a Berber people from the Atlas Mountains in North Eastern Algeria. The front and back are decorated with a pattern of silver wire forming spaces filled with enamel or coral. To one side of the brooch is a fixed pin with an open ring that would have been used to attach the brooch. It was originally one of a pair, which were worn on the front of the body, just below the shoulders, to hold the wearer’s dress together. The two fibulae would have been linked by a chain attached to the loop at the top.

This brooch was probably made by a Jewish silversmith. In the late fifteenth century many Jewish people immigrated to North Africa. The Jewish population dominated the silversmithing profession and bought with them many new jewellery techniques (such as enamelling) which they handed down from generation to generation.
Collection
Accession number
666-1893

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Record createdApril 4, 2003
Record URL
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