Two Fatimid filigree gold Fittings Syria or Egypt, 11th Century (2)
Sold for £43,020 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Islamic and Indian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistTwo Fatimid filigree gold Fittings
Syria or Egypt, 11th Century
Syria or Egypt, 11th Century
(2)
Footnotes
These high quality fittings, which are in virtually pristine condition, are a rare example of the finest and most decoratively complex group of Fatimid filigree gold work. There is a similar spherical bead and conical bead in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Marilyn Jenkins and Manuel Keene, Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1982, no. 51d, p. 88). Unlike earrings, pendants, bracelets and rings, beads have survived in very small numbers, and in just two shapes, spherical and biconical. The arabesque designs can be compared to those on a number of elements from a hoarde of Fatimid gold jewellery found in a glazed ceramic jar with a number of other objects of personal adornment at Caesarea in Palestine in 1963 (Tresors Fatimides du Caire exhibition catalogue, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, 28th April to 30th August 1998, no. 72, p. 133). These designs can also be seen on a gold pendant from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Jenkins and Keene, 1982, no. 49a).