EGYPT, SECOND HALF 11TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF FATIMID GOLD EARRINGS
EGYPT, SECOND HALF 11TH CENTURY
Each earring widening from the simple loop to a wide base, the sides each with a central rosette and a raised knop surrounded by bands of filigree spirals
1¼in. (3.1cm.) diam. at largest

Provenance

Private Collection, Switzerland, stated on 1998 invoice

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Amongst the luxury arts produced under the Fatimids, the gold jewellery stands out for its innovation and complexity (Maryam D. Ekhtiar, Priscilla P. Soucek, Sheila R. Canby and Navina Najat Haidar (eds.), Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2011, pp.151-52, no.101). The crescent moon shape filled with filigree or openwork s-shaped curves such as ours seem to have dominated production. Literary sources mention that large amounts of jewellery was produced for royal and patrician patrons but little now survives, probably because much was melted down for currency or re-use. A very similar pair of earrings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv.no.1979.278.2a,b; https://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/452939?rpp=30&pg=1&ft=FATIMID%2C%2BGOLD&pos=2&imgno=2&tabname=label).

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