Name of Object:

Single earring

Location:

Berlin, Germany

Holding Museum:

Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum

About Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin

Date of Object:

Hegira 1st–2nd century / AD 7th–8th century

Museum Inventory Number:

I. 2333

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Gold wire with soldered on adornments.

Dimensions:

Height 6.5 cm, width 5.8 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Umayyad or Abbasid

Provenance:

Egypt.

Description:

The filigree earring is composed of a circular tube of gold foil, soldered onto the inside of which is a piece that consists of freestanding decorative elements, which decorate only the earring’s lower half. On one side there is an eyelet clasp. Freestanding wire-work and surface granulation create what looks like a rosette, which is framed on either side by two rectangular boxes. The rosette is composed of six simple circles bordered by a crenellated frieze made of granulated dots. Six circles fill the rectangular boxes. Two friezes of differing width sit above the rosette and boxes, each consisting of a horizontal row of circles. Further individual elements are soldered onto the gold tube as well as to each other, achieving a certain stability or solidity while retaining an apparent lightness of structure.
The designers and makers of women’s jewellery in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods took their inspiration from examples that were made in the Byzantine era, so that designs changed only gradually. The earring’s geometry expresses the decorative aesthetic of the time, an aesthetic evident within other art forms such as architectural decoration.

View Short Description

This single earring from early Islamic Egypt follows a shape in use in pre-Islamic times. The design within the lower part of the circle has an almost architectural quality. A medallion and friezes contain differently executed rows of small circles. This type of jewellery was made for woman.

How date and origin were established:

This type of earring and the design of each individual element point to it being from Late Antiquity or the Byzantine era, so that the earliest date that can be suggested is some time within the Early Islamic period.

How Object was obtained:

Donated by M. Nahman, Cairo.

How provenance was established:

The earring was acquired in Cairo and strikingly similar examples can be seen in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, so it is very likely that it is of Egyptian provenance.

Selected bibliography:

Gladiss, A. v., Schmuck im Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin, 1998, no. 14, ill. 70.
Museum für Islamische Kunst Berlin, Catalogue, Berlin, 1979, no. 133.

Citation of this web page:

Annette Hagedorn "Single earring" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;de;Mus01;40;en

Prepared by: Annette Hagedorn
Translation by: Maria Vlotides, Brigitte Finkbeiner
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: GE 51

RELATED CONTENT

 Artistic Introduction

 Timeline for this item

Islamic Dynasties / Period

Abbasids

Umayyads


On display in

Discover Islamic Art Exhibition(s)

The Abbasids | Abbasid Egypt

MWNF Galleries

Jewellery

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