Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1860
Publication Place
Syria (made) -
Subject
Jewellery Metalwork
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Length: 26.5in
(Note: Taken from register)
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
1564-1873
Record ID
1564-1873
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1860
Notes
The traditional jewellery of the Syrian region, which incorporated much of Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon as well as Syria itself in the 19th century, shows influences from a wide range of sources, reflecting Syriaâs strong trading traditions and central location. The jewellery worn in towns, which is often Ottoman in style, is frequently very different from that worn by the nomadic Bedouin, whose characteristic silver jewellery is much better known today. This chain was described as a znak , or chain to âfasten on the pantoar or horn for the headâ. The pantour, or tantour as it is now usually known, was a high conical headdress, resembling the hennin headdress worn by aristocratic women in Western Europe in the late medieval period. Today it is the most distinctive element of the traditional womenâs dress of the Lebanese Druze, but it was worn over a wider area in the 19th century. It was held in place by tapes or chains, as here. The word znak is a generic Arabic name in the region for chains worn under the chin to hold various kinds of headdress in place. This example was bought for five shillings and six pence at the International Exhibition, London, in 1872, as an example of traditional Syrian jewellery.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Silver-plated metal Plated
Fiziksel açıklama
Length of heavy silver-plated panzer chain with a hook at each end attached to a large ring. Each ring also holds a larger leaf-shaped hook, decorated on the front with a rocker-engraved stylised tree, and four lengths of figure-of-eight chain, each with two disc pendants and one flat leaf-shaped pendant.
