Necklace

Two Necklaces: MMA nos. 1972.188.3 and 1972.218.1

Both men and women in the Seljuq era adorned themselves with gold and silver jewelry. The Qur’an does not explicitly prohibit the practice, but the hadith, or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, note the Prophet’s proscription of the wearing of gold rings by men, although silver rings were allowed. Another hadith permits women, but not men, to wear gold jewelry and silk, bearing in mind that they were meant to be seen only by their husbands.[1] Children of both sexes were allowed to wear jewelry, because they were not considered seductive.[2] What the Qur’an does say is that those who reach Paradise will be served by youths wearing silver bracelets bearing silver vessels (76:15, 21). Thus, the idea of personal embellishment with precious metal in an uncorrupted setting was well established by the time these two necklaces were produced. Their manufacture reflects the high level of artistic skill and technical ability achieved by Iranian goldsmiths under the Seljuqs.

The necklaces, restrung in modern times, were most likely worn by women.[3] Several illustrations in the mid-thirteenth-century manuscript Warqa and Gulshah from Konya depict Gulshah wearing a double strand of beads, one of pearls and one apparently of gold.[4] The necklaces in the illustrations are akin to chokers and thus resemble this Iranian example in their general form. Necklace 1972.188.3 consists of twenty-three hollow beads made of gold sheet. Each bead has twelve sides; each side, a central hole (perhaps originally set with a gem) surrounded by a narrow band of twisted gold wire. The edges take the form of pentagons of granulation laid over twisted gold wire. At the points where the pentagons meet are larger single granules. Normally the beads would have been produced by beating the gold sheet into a dapping block, a stone with semicircles of different sizes carved out of its surface.[5] On these beads, however, the seam where two semicircles of gold sheet would join is invisible, perhaps obscured by the gold wire and granulation applied to the surface.

The second necklace (1972.218.1) is composed of sixteen spherical gold beads suspended by short stalks from a necklace of small ribbed gold beads, four of which separate each of the larger beads. The small beads and the clasp are later in date than the spherical beads. Unlike in the first necklace (1972.188.3), the beads on this one are visibly made of two hemispheres soldered together. On each half five tangent circles surround a sixth circle that encloses a design of concentric rings produced with twisted wire. Within the five tangent circles is a small repoussé dome decorated with three small circles in low relief. As abstract as this granulated and applied decoration is, it may have had a general astral significance, since the total number of circles—twelve—matches the sum of zodiacal signs.

While a great deal of medieval Iranian gold jewelry must have been melted down, certainly the concept of wearing and using gold was embedded in the culture. One passage in the eleventh-century Shahnama of Firdawsi, describing Sindukht as she prepares to persuade Sam not to attack her husband Mihrab’s territory, illustrates this notion of luxury:

[She] Then boldly faced the danger, clad herself All in brocade of gold with pearls and jewels About her head, and from the treasury took Three hundred thousand pieces as a largess. They brought forth thirty steeds of Arab stock Or Persian with their silvern equipage; And sixty slaves with golden torques, each bearing A golden goblet brimmed with camphor, musk, Gold, turquoises, and jewels of all kinds; One hundred female camels with red hair, One hundred baggage-mules; a crown of jewels Fit for a king, with armlets, torques, and earrings; A throne of gold like heaven, all inlaid With divers sorts of gems . . . [6]

Sheila R. Canby in [Canby, Beyazit, and Rugiadi 2016]

Footnotes:

1. Ghabin, Ahmad. “Jewellery and Goldsmithing in Medieval Islam: The Religious Point of View.” In Jewellery and Goldsmithing in the Islamic World: International Symposium, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1987, edited by Na‘ama Brosh, Jerusalem, 1991, p. 87.

2. Ibid., p. 88.

3. However, MMA 67.119, a nearly lifesize gypsum- plaster figure, wears a choker with round beads and a slightly larger pendant bead, which may be analogous to the ones on these necklaces.

4. Melikian-Chirvani, Assadullah Souren. “Le roman de Varqe et Golšâh.” Arts asiatiques 22 (1970, p. 237, fig. 44. On p. 235, fig. 40, and p. 236, fig. 43, all the beads appear to be pearls.

5. One such dapping block, most likely from the tenth or eleventh century, was excavated at Istakhr. See Allan, J[ames] W. “Islamic Jewellery and Archaeology.” In Islamic Jewellery. Dealer cat., Spink and Son, London, April 15–May 9, 1986. London, 1986, p. 16, fig. 75.

6. F[i]rd[a]wsi, Abolqasem. The Sháhnáma of Firdausí. Translated by Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner. London, 1905–25; http://persian.packhum.org /persian/main, v. 199–200.

Patti Cadby Birch, New York (until 1972; sold to MMA through Arce Works of Art)

New York. Forbes Galleries. "Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Jeweled Objects from the Cradle of Civilization," September 22, 2008–December 31, 2008, p. 111.

Chicago. Field Museum of Natural History. "Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Jeweled Objects from the Cradle of Civilization," February 13, 2009–June 14, 2009, p. 111.

Paris. Institut du Monde Arabe. "Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Jeweled Objects from the Cradle of Civilization," April 19, 2010–July 25, 2010, p. 111.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs," April 25–July 24, 2016, no. 27.

Price, Judith. "Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization." In Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry. Philadelphia; London, 2008. p. 111, ill. (color).

Canby, Sheila R., Deniz Beyazit, and Martina Rugiadi. "The Great Age of the Seljuqs." In Court and Cosmos. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. no. 26, pp. 99–100, ill. p. 99 (color).