These earrings (39.157.1 and .2) were discovered in al-Hillah, Iraq, and are of a known type produced in the 11th–13th centuries. The hexagram in the center probably alludes to the apotropaic Seal of Solomon, a motif which is found on other objects from this period and place. According to legend, King Solomon received the Seal in the form of a signet ring directly from God, which gave him the power to command animals, and supernatural beings (jinn). The Seal of Solomon became a popular talismanic motif throughout the Islamic world and can be found on the surfaces of many objects.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Earring, One of a Pair
Date:probably 11th–13th century
Geography:Attributed to Iraq
Medium:Gold, filigree, decorated with granulation, and originally set with stones
Dimensions:H. 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm) W. 1 3/16 in. (3 cm) D. 3/16 in. (0.4 cm)
Classification:Jewelry
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1939
Object Number:39.157.2
Pair of Gold Earrings
This pair of gold earrings (39.157.1, .2), whose cross section (bulging at the center and tapering to a point at the edges) is reminiscent of a type of twelfth-century Kievan earring (e.g., MMA 17.190.679, .680, .699, .707), belongs to a rare group of which only one other pair and a single earring, both in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad, are known.[1] Fortunately, the provenance of these three earrings is known, all having been found in Mesopotamia; so perhaps we are safe in assuming that Iraq is the country of origin of this pair.
Another indication of Iraqi origin is a second pair of earrings in the Museum's collection (MMA 95.16.2, .3) that, according to the dealer from whom they were purchased in 1895, were found in al-Hillah, Iraq. Although these are constructed of sheet decorated with wire, they share with the present pair their overall outline including the peculiar truncated six-point star motif, with its setting cup on the obverse.this pair.
[Jenkins and Keene 1983]
Footnotes:
1. 'Umar al-'Ali, Z. "Islamic Jewelry Acquired by the Iraq Museum," in Arabic. Sumer 30 (1974), 681–94, fig. 8.
[ Elias S. David, New York, until 1939; sold to MMA]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Islamic Jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 22–August 14, 1983, no. 46.
"Djawhar." The Encyclopaedia of Islam (1981). Supplement, Fasc. 3-4, no. 19, p. 255, ill. pl. XXXIV (b/w).
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn, and Manuel Keene. Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1983. no. 46, pp. 79–80, ill.(b/w).
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