Name of Object:

Pair of earrings

Location:

Damascus, Syria

Holding Museum:

National Museum of Damascus

About National Museum of Damascus, Damascus

Date of Object:

Around hegira 5th–6th century / AD 11th–12th century

Museum Inventory Number:

ع 3052

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Woven gold.

Dimensions:

Length (at longest point) 3.5 cm, depth (at deepest point) 1.21 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Fatimid

Provenance:

Possibly Raqqa.

Description:

The Fatimid period is distinguished by the development of precisely executed objects with high levels of decorative concentration. This is evident in wood, metal, and gold objects from the period.
This pair of earrings is made from a gold web that is hollow from the inside. Each individual earring is in the form of a bird carrying in its beak a small gold ball. The loop provided for hanging the earring from the ear of the wearer connects the head of the bird with the rear of its body, making the arch of the bird's back straddle the earlobe.
The earrings were made from gold wire carefully soldered together and accentuated with a few gold granules. The granule technique creates a light and hollow whole that is both aesthetically and practically pleasing. This technique was also used to create spherical or bi-conical beads that were then strung together into necklaces and other kinds of jewellery.

This small but meticulously executed pair of gold earrings is a prime example of dexterity in the technique of filigree. Birds were a favoured ornamental motif and the filigree technique maintained the lightness of the subject without compromising their opulence.

How date and origin were established:

The production of this type of hollow, woven gold object was well known in the Fatimid period, specifically in the first half of the 5th / 11th century.

How Object was obtained:

Purchased in 1940.

How provenance was established:

Although purchased in Raqqa, the method of production described above was associated with multiple sites in Egypt and Syria, such as Cairo and Aleppo. It is difficult to determine, therefore, a definitive provenance.

Selected bibliography:

Ettinghausen, R., Grabar, O., and Jenkins-Madina, M., Islamic Art and Architecture 650–1250, New Haven, 2001, fig. 340.
Seipel, W., Schätze der Kalifen: Islamische Kunst zur Fatimidenzeit, Wien, 1998, pp.119–20; fig. 76.

Citation of this web page:

Mona al-Moadin "Pair of earrings" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;sy;Mus01;17;en

Prepared by: Mona Al-Moadin
Translation by: Hilary Kalmbach (from the Arabic)
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: SY 23