Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1800
Publication Place
Cyprus (made) -
Subject
Jewellery Metalwork Traditional Jewellery (Europe)
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Width: 10cm, Length: 22cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
1529-1888
Record ID
1529-1888
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1800
Notes
Throughout the lands of the former Ottoman Empire, from the north Balkans to the Caucasus, large and elaborate waist clasps were the most important item in a womanâs dowry. These clasps come in a small number of basic shapes. This one is shaped like stylised tulips, a favourite Ottoman motif. It was worn with the pointed part facing upwards, and was fastened by a pin, which attached the left-hand piece to the rest of the clasp. The five chains, which join the pin to the clasp, hung down decoratively over the front of the clasp when it was fastened. Tulip-shaped filigree clasps were also worn in some of the other Greek islands, and on the west coast of the Balkans, but those are usually smaller and less decorative than Cypriot clasps. Cypriot clasps are part of the general Ottoman tradition, but are often more sophisticated and decorative than those from elsewhere. The goldsmiths of Cyprus were famous for their filigree although they rarely marked their work. This clasp was bought in 1888, just after a terrible famine, when many people had to sell their family heirlooms to survive.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Silver filigree decorated with red, blue and green pastes Silver Paste Filigree
Fiziksel açıklama
Silver filigree clasp with pin fastening. The clasp is made from three stylised tulips of open filigree, with a large vertical tulip in the centre, and a smaller horizontal tulip on each side. The piece on the right, facing the clasp, is soldered to the central piece, and the piece on the left is attached by a pin fastening. The pin is joined to the clasp by five graduated chains of figure-of-eight links, which hang across the front of the clasp from a ring at the top of the right-hand piece when the pin is in place. The filigree is decorated with applied domes covered with twisted wire rings, and red, blue and green pastes in closed settings. There are vertical bars on the back to attach the clasp to a belt.
