Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1860
Publication Place
Syria (made) -
Subject
Jewellery Metalwork
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Diameter: 6cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
1566-1873
Record ID
1566-1873
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1860
Notes
This brooch is a type known as a ring brooch. A ring brooch is a very efficient kind of dress fastener, which was used universally in the late Roman period. It differs from a modern brooch in the way it is attached. The wearer pulls the cloth of the garment through the central hole, and then spears it with the pin. The greater the strain on the pin, the more secure the fastening. Ring brooches survived into modern times as part of womenâs traditional costume in only a few places in the Mediterranean region, including Algeria and the tiny Greek island of Castellorizo, off the coast of Turkey. This one was bought for two shillings at the International Exhibition, London, in 1872, as an example of traditional Syrian jewellery, when its name was recorded as â dabaloos ansarie â. There are no published examples from Syria, but there seems no reason to doubt the origin of this one. Its details are different from those worn elsewhere. The preference for new jewellery at weddings has ensured that few pieces of Syrian jewellery survive in use for more than a few generations. It is only the V&Aâs early interest in traditional jewellery which has preserved this example.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Gilded silver-plated metal decorated with applied twisted wire and granules Plated Gilt Filigree
Fiziksel açıklama
Flat circular ring brooch made from metal which has been first silver-plated and then gilded. The inner and outer rim on the front are emphasised with bands of applied twisted wire, and the space between them has four trefoil motifs consisting of three rings of twisted wire each containing a granule. The tang is made of silver-plated metal and is attached to a bar across an oval hole in the space between two of the trefoil motifs. This oval hole is surrounded by four rings with granules, like the trefoils, and there is a plain trefoil, without granules, opposite the hole, where the point of the tang rests.
