EGYPT, 11TH CENTURY

The present earrings are characteristic of the sophisticated goldsmithing of the Fatimid period, combining fine filigree, applied gold knops and pearls. The openwork is formed from delicate scrolling filigree incorporating stylised zoomorphic forms. Related examples include two pairs of crescent-shaped gold earrings in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, dated to the AH 5th-6th century AH/11th-12th century AD (JE140.2003.1–2), which similarly combine filigree and granulation with rows of gold beads. A particularly close comparison is an 11th-century Egyptian example in The David Collection, Copenhagen (5 / 1988; Kjeld von Folsach, Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen, 2001, p.347, no.582), with a comparable openwork composition, zoomorphic forms and raised gold bosses; the example is now missing its original pearl fringe.