Pair of Earrings

Pair of Gold Earrings

This pair of earrings are the single most elaborate example of Fatimid filigree and granulation work in the Museum's collection; and indeed they hold the same position among all the extant Fatimid jewelry known to us. Only two other pairs, one in the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin (217), and the other, reportedly found near Mosul, Iraq, in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond,[1] share its peculiarity of construction, in which there is a hollow tube bisecting the edge of each earring to which has been attached a narrow strip of gold bearing contiguous groups of three grains forming a salient crenellation along the center of the tube. The other exceptional construction feature is the thickness of each earring in relation to its overall size.

These earrings incorporate several features found on Iranian objects, which further supports the likelihood of an origin to the east of Egypt. The S-curves formed of flat wire, which curl back on themselves, were previously seen on armlet no. 57.88a–c and on the three gold necklace elements no. 1979.7.2a–c. Also, the rather spiky character of the arabesque on the reverse and the one on either side of the hollow tube is dissimilar to that on the Egyptian pieces but is seen on an earring found in Iran (New York art market, about 1980).

[Jenkins and Keene 1983]

Footnotes:

1. Ross, Heather Colyer. Bedouin Jewellery in Saudi Arabia. London, 1978, fig. 42.

Pair of Earrings

The most elaborate extant example of filigree and granulation work from the Fatimid period in Egypt and Greater Syria (969–1171), this pair of earrings is illustrative both of the most characteristic goldsmith work and of one of the most popular shapes for jewelry of the period — the hilal, or crescent.

Each earring consists of two openwork faces connected by a horizontally aligned section, thus forming a crescent-shaped box. The faces were originally framed with five evenly spaced loops, through which pearls or semiprecious stones were strung. The openwork surface behind the loops is formed of flattened plain wires bent into S curves. The central area of each face and the outer borders of the wide horizontal edges are constructed of paired twisted wires worked into arabesque designs, with granules lining the crevices; the openwork areas are supported on the back by small gold strips.

This basic vocabulary — a box construction, rings for stringing, openwork S curves and arabesque designs supported with small strips, and the crescent shape itself — seems to have dominated jewelry production in the Fatimid world into the second half of the eleventh century and perhaps later. The influence of this vogue was widespread.

Goldsmiths working under the Mamluks (1250–1517) adapted this vocabulary,[1] as did jewelers of Nasrid Spain (1232–1492),[2] while echoes reverberated in Rus', Ottoman Turkey, Mughal India, and North Africa.

[Evans and Wixom 1997]

Footnotes:

1. Marilyn Jenkins. "Fatimid Jewelry, Its Subtypes and Influences." Ars Orientalis 18, (1988), pp. 39–57.

2. Marilyn Jenkins. "Mamluk Jewelry: Influences and Echoes." Muqarnas 5 (1988), pp. 29–42.


Pair of Gold Earrings

This pair of earrings illustrate the highest point of Fatimid goldwork. Not only are they the most elaborate example of Fatimid jewelry decorated with filigree and granulation in the Museum's collection, but they are also the finest and most complex extant pieces from that period anywhere. (Only two other pairs, in Berlin and Richmond, Virginia, share their particular fabrication.) The earrings are made up of filigree work that rests on a framework of tiny tie-plates invisible from the exterior. An impression of openwork "baskets" is created by the pieces' heaviness and their thick and hollow "box" construction, as well as by their crescent shape which is suspended from earwires resembling "handles". A sparkling effect is achieved by the minute granules of various sizes, punctuated by larger grains ("shots"), which surmount the filigree arabesques. This type of intricate decoration became the hallmark of the best Fatimid goldwork. A rare feature of this set is the central hollow tube that bisects the edge of each earring. Ornamental designs executed in filigree and granulation are rinceaux (on the bands flanking the tubular elements), half-palmettes (on the semicircular area between the large bosses), and arabesques (on the entire reverse crescent-shaped area).

Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews in [Walker et al. 1994]

[ McDougall Palmer Ltd., London, by 1978–79; sold to MMA]

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Islamic Jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 22–August 14, 1983, no. 51a.

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 101.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Glory of Byzantium," March 11–July 6, 1997, no. 277.

"M.M.A. Notable Acquisitions 1979–80." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin vol. 37 (1979–1980). p. 16, ill. (b/w).

Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn, and Manuel Keene. Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1983. no. 51a, pp. 85–86, ill. (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. 101, pp. 246–47, ill. (b/w).

Evans, Helen, and William D. Wixom, ed. "Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era A.D. 843–1261." In The Glory of Byzantium. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. no. 277, p. 420, ill. (color).

Carboni, Stefano. "The Arts of the Fatimid Period at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Ismaili (2008). p. 10, ill. fig. 18 (color).