A PAIR OF EARLY ISLAMIC GOLD EARRINGS, 12TH CENTURY

A pair of early islamic earrings from the end of the 12th c AD. The earrings are formed of a thick, circular wire with a device for closing the loop and three large globular beads which are threaded onto the wire and fixed by attachment with beaded spaces which are in turn soldered to the wire. The beads are made from thin sheet moulded into hemispheres which are then soldered at the edges to for a sphere. These were then in turned embellished with twisted wires and beads. The type originally derives from Byzantine prototypes and the interaction between the two cultures is well known in terms of borrowing from each other in the field of jewelry. They are exceptionally well preserved.
4.4 by 4.2 by 1.7 cm.
Weight: 28.1 gr.

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Belgium