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    Sale 7218

    Art of The Islamic and Indian Worlds

    London

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    4 April 2006

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    • A PAIR OF GOLD EARRINGS
    Lot 65

    A PAIR OF GOLD EARRINGS

    SPAIN, 11TH-14TH CENTURY

    Price realised

    GBP 6,000

    Estimate

    GBP 5,000 - GBP 7,000

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    A PAIR OF GOLD EARRINGS
    SPAIN, 11TH-14TH CENTURY
    Of flat circular form, the central roundel worked with shallowly convex addorsed split palmette design, the interstices open, in a border of flattened globular bodies made of sheet, each decorated with three small granules, with attachment hoop, some elements slightly dented
    2¾in. (7cm.) high (2)

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    Lot Essay

    Immediately recognisable in this pair of earrings is the addorsed tri-lobed leaves with a smaller similar motif above which can be found in various manifestations throughout Spanish Islamic art. In the caliphal period for example it decorates the exterior of the casket of Hisham II (Jerrilynn D. Dodds, Al-Andalus, the Art of Islamic Spain, New York, 1992, no.9, pp.208-9) while five hundred years later in the later Nasrid period it can be found in a more elongated form in various panels on the Alhambra vase (Dodds, op.cit., no.112, p.358-9).

    The execution of this main design is not as precise as it is when encountered in the items mentioned above. The stem has developed into a large extra lower lobe, and the upper motif is markedly assymmetrical, to cope with the twisting of the wire outline. This lends the earrings a somewhat provincial appearance. Yet the execution of the earrings and in particular the work along the leading edges of the outer lobes is very fine indeed, inidicating a very proficient craftsman.

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    Special Notice

    No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.


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