Complete Description

A Fatimid or Ayyubid Large Pair of Filigree Gold Earrings,

Egypt or Syria, 12th Century

Chacune en navicelle, à décor d’entrelacs et ornées d’une série de billes d’or sur leur surface, avec fermoir circulaire, petits manques.

Dim. : 4 x 2,8 cm; poids: 19 g

Provenance:

Collection particulière belge

Exhibitions:

Institut du monde arabe, Paris, 2012-mars 2026

Comment:

A fine example of filigree and granulation work, this pair of earrings illustrates one of the most characteristic types of metalwork of the period: the hilāl, or crescent. Their formal vocabulary—basket-like construction, gold beads, openwork scrolls, and arabesques—dominates the jewellery production of the Fatimid period and also influenced Mamluk period jewellery.

Two comparable pairs of earrings of similar form, dated to the eleventh century, are preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (attributed to Syria, inv. 1979.278.2a, b), and in the Khalili Collection (Syria or Egypt, inv. JLY 1725).