Author
Unknown (made)
Publication Date
1800
Publication Place
Balkans (made) -
Subject
Star of David
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Width: 17cm, Maximum height: 10.4cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
952-1884
Record ID
952-1884
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 including stylised tulips as here. The women who owned them sewed them onto cloth belts which they made themselves, usually richly embroidered. This clasp is set with pieces of grooved coral, known as âfinger nailsâ, which are typical of the work of Saphrampolis, in northern Anatolia. They were traded throughout the Balkans, and were highly esteemed. Although the clasp appears to be made of gilded silver it is in fact copper, thickly plated first with silver, and then gold. This technique was very common in the Balkans in the 19th century.
İlişki
Paris International Exhibition, 1878 Gaston De Saint-Maurice
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Silver-gilt over copper filigree set with striated corals Plated Silver Coral Gilt Filigree
Fiziksel açıklama
Two-part filigree clasp of silver-gilt over copper set with coral. Each half is shaped as a circle with a pointed extension on its outer edge. One half has a sideways hook on its inner edge, and the other a corresponding loop covered by a disc. There are two loops on the lower edge of each part, and one on the lower edge of the disc over the loop, each of which holds three chains ending in flat drop-shaped pendants with inner spaces containing two red glass beads threaded on a wire. The front of each part is decorated with applied rosettes and striated corals in closed mounts. The extreme end of the left hand part is missing.
