Breast Ornament
1860-1870 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The traditional jewellery of the Syrian region, which incorporated much of Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon as well as Syria itself in the 19th century, shows influences from a wide range of sources, reflecting Syria’s strong trading traditions and central location. The jewellery worn in towns, which is often Ottoman in style, is frequently very different from that worn by the nomadic Bedouin, whose characteristic silver jewellery is much better known today.
This chain was described as a znak, when it was acquired by the Museum. This is a generic Arabic name in the region for chains worn under the chin to hold various kinds of headdress in place. The hooks at the ends were fastened into the cloth of the headdress at either side of the face, so that the long chains in the centre fell down over the wearer’s chest. It was bought for eight shillings at the International Exhibition, London, in 1872, as an example of traditional Syrian jewellery.
This chain was described as a znak, when it was acquired by the Museum. This is a generic Arabic name in the region for chains worn under the chin to hold various kinds of headdress in place. The hooks at the ends were fastened into the cloth of the headdress at either side of the face, so that the long chains in the centre fell down over the wearer’s chest. It was bought for eight shillings at the International Exhibition, London, in 1872, as an example of traditional Syrian jewellery.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Silver-plated chains and flat pendants with silver coins |
Brief description | Silver-plated chin chain (Znak) with hooks at the ends and nine long chain pendants hanging down at the front with coins and other pendants, Syria, 1860-1870. |
Physical description | Length of panzer chain with a plaque at each end shaped like a stylised flower with a hook on its back. There are nine chains hanging from the panzer chain. Five are long and made of tight loop-in-loop chain and these alternate with four shorter, looser loop-in-loop chains. There are rings threaded along the length of each of these chains holding coin and wedge-shaped pendants, and the five longer chains each has a hollow spherical pendant at its end. |
Summary | The traditional jewellery of the Syrian region, which incorporated much of Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon as well as Syria itself in the 19th century, shows influences from a wide range of sources, reflecting Syria’s strong trading traditions and central location. The jewellery worn in towns, which is often Ottoman in style, is frequently very different from that worn by the nomadic Bedouin, whose characteristic silver jewellery is much better known today. This chain was described as a znak, when it was acquired by the Museum. This is a generic Arabic name in the region for chains worn under the chin to hold various kinds of headdress in place. The hooks at the ends were fastened into the cloth of the headdress at either side of the face, so that the long chains in the centre fell down over the wearer’s chest. It was bought for eight shillings at the International Exhibition, London, in 1872, as an example of traditional Syrian jewellery. |
Collection | |
Accession number | 1544-1873 |
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Record created | April 8, 2003 |
Record URL |
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