Pair of Floral Pectoral Ornaments

Two Pairs of Floral Pectoral Ornaments (2018.922.6a, .6b and 2022.465.3)

These elegant clasps were undoubtedly made by the same craftsman or workshop, given the similar treatment of the surface in the gul, the harmony in the balance between the gul and pendants, the rich but subdued color palette, and the use of identical chains and pendants. Differences include the form of the palmette (compact in no. 2022.465.3 and elongated in no. 2018.922.6a, .6b) and the overall design principle (cross shape in the former and centered in the latter). A number of comparable works for 2022.465.3 have been identified in the literature but none for for 2018.922.6a, .b, perhaps indicating that the latter was a special commission, a suggestion supported by the exceptional quality of the piece.

Of particular note is the beauty of the surface decoration in 2018.922.6a, .6b, where the silver motifs of the pendants are recalled in embossed silver appliqués on the gul, a rare example of harmony of conception in Turkmen ornament, where the pendants and terminals are generally treated as separate units from the body of the ornament.

Layla S. Diba in [Diba 2011]

Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf, New York, NY (by 2006–22; gifted to MMA)

Diba, Layla S. "Silver Ornaments from the Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf Collection." In Turkmen Jewelry. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. no. 109, pp. 157–58, ill.