Pendant

Gold Pendant

The only piece of jewelry in which, to our knowledge, a slab of reflective material is overlaid by a network of filigree, this pendant nevertheless shares with necklace no. 15.95.77 the linear, channel-set ruby chips and something of the decorative character. Great beauty and richness of effect have been achieved with relatively little expenditure of material.

[Jenkins and Keene 1983]


Gold Pendant

The center element of a necklace, this pendant may have been designed to hold an amulet or ta'viz. The pendant's hollow construction would have allowed for the insertion of a small slip of paper, perhaps inscribed with a verse from the Qur'an. For extra stability, the two halves of the pendant have been filled with lac, a reddish resin secreted by the lac insect on its host tree.

The reverse of the pendant is a sheet of gold embellished with repoussé work. A spray of flowers and tendrils emanating from a single stem are framed by a band of scrolls which border an outer row of flowers contained within a scalloped edge. On the face of the pendant, an undulating network of gold filigree has been placed over a sheet of mica, which served as a base for the delicate filigree work during the soldering process. Granulated gold forms tiny flowers which do not surface. An embellishment of color is achieved by an outer trim of channel-cut rubies punctuated by emeralds (or possibly simulated gems), and the central emerald boss surrounded by more rubies.

Rochelle Kessler in [Walker et al. 1994]

Lockwood de Forest (American), New York (until 1915; sold to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Islamic Jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 22–August 14, 1983, no. 61.

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 106.

Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn, and Manuel Keene. Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1983. no. 61, p. 118, ill. (color).

Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn. "Mamluk Jewelry: Influences and Echoes." Muqarnas vol. 5 (1988). p. 39, ill. pl.17a, b (b/w).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahli, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 106, pp. 256–57, ill. (color).