Pendant in the form of a ferret

16th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 520

The size of this jewel and related ones (see also 17.190.892; 17.190.893; 32.100.298; and 32.100.306) is such that only the closest viewer could appreciate their full beauty and dexterous execution; they represent the finest craftsmanship for the wealthiest patrons. Each combines gold with natural treasures, such as pearls and gemstones. Bulbous baroque pearls cleverly suggest the fluffy down of a swan’s underbelly or a cloudy mass supporting the Crucifixion. Tiny figures are enameled in the round. Melding the secular and the sacred, these jewels were made to be worn: pinned to garments or hanging close to their owners’ skin. The animals might be heraldic devices; the swan, for example, could symbolize the Society of the Virgin Mary, called the Order of the Swan, which was founded in mid-fifteenth-century Brandenburg in Germany.

[Elizabeth Cleland, 2017]

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Pendant in the form of a ferret
Date: 16th century
Culture: Northern European
Medium: Gold, partly enameled, set with rubies and diamonds; pearls
Dimensions: Overall: 3 1/2 × 1 7/8 in. (8.9 × 4.8 cm)
Classifications: Metalwork-Gold and Platinum, Jewelry
Credit Line: Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941
Object Number: 41.100.26
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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Prudence, Etienne Delaune French, Chalcedony, mounted in gold with enamel, rubies, emeralds, diamond, and pearl, French, Paris — Prudence
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Justice, Gold, partly enameled, set with diamonds and emeralds; pearls, Northern European — Justice
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Pendant in the form of a swan, Gold, partly enameled; pearls, Northern European — Pendant in the form of a swan
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Cross, Gold, partly enameled, set with diamonds, Northern European — Cross
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Pendant in the Form of a Cross, Enameled gold, European — Pendant in the Form of a Cross
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