NEAR EASTERN JEWELRY

A PICTURE BOOK
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM
OF ART

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

NEAR EASTERN JEWELRY

A PIC 'fURE BOOK

NEW YORK
I

940

COPYRIGHT BY
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
NOVEMBER, I

94-0

>
z

NEAR EASTERN JEWELRY

T:

HE arts of the gold mith and of the jeweler were already

highly developed in the earliest periods of the ancient ear
East. The jewelry of Queen hubad and her ladies-in-waiting (see fig. I), from the excavations of royal tombs at
r in
Me opotamia, dating from a period between 3 500 and 2 oo B.c.,
reveal all the splendor and richness of umerian jewelry. The
headdresses of Queen hubad and the court ladies were particu larly rich. trings of lapis lazuli and carnelian beads were often
decorated with gold-leaf pendants, which are rendered surprisingly naturalistically, resembling leaves of a beech tree, as in fig ure I, or willow leaves.
A great period of oriental jewelry was reached in Iran under
the rule of the Achaemenid kings ( 5 4-9- 3 3 I B.c.). Magnificent
armlets, bracelets, and torques, showing great elegance of form,
are often inlaid entirely or in part with lapis lazuli and turquoise,
set either in cut-out cavities or in applied cloisons (orjevrerie

cloisonnie) .
Contemporary with the Achaemenian jewelry of I ran are the
gold objects of the Scythian tribes, known from finds in western
Siberia and South R ussia. These objects are decorated in an animal style which is quite different from that of Mesopotamia and
Achaemenid Iran. I n this Museum is an interesting group of
Scythian gold ornaments (fig. 2) said to have come from Maikop,
in South R ussia . They were used as garment decoration and consist of winged griffins of I ranian origin, stags, and rosettes. The
relief of the animals shows parts of the surface slanting and
sharply contrasted in light and shade. T his decorative effect was
obtained by bevel- or slant-carving, a technique which most probably originated in bone or wood and is peculiar to Scytho-Siberian
art. Anothe r ch aracteristic feat ure of this art is the frequent use of

parts of animals or birds as separate motives, as seen on the antlers

of the stag (fig. 2).
The art of stone inlay was adopted by most of the Iranian
tribes, among them the Sarmatians, whose art is familiar to us
from finds in western Siberia and South Russia. To the Sarmatians
belongs the credit of transmitting cloisonne inlay to Europe
through the Goths and other T eutonic tribes. A fine example is
a gold clasp (fig. 3), of about the first century A.D., composed of
two identical groups of a lion attacking an ibex. It was originally
inlaid with stones, probably turquoise, which was favored by the
Iranians .
nother I ranian tribe famous for their gold jewelry were the
P arthians, who were ruled by the kings of the Arsacid dynasty
( 24-8 B.C.-A .D. 2 26). Parthian jewelry, found in excavations at
eleucia in Mesopotamia and D ura in Syria, is represented in
our Museum by a number of fine pieces, such as the gold clasp
of the first or second century A.D . illustrated in figure 4- It shows
a medallion with an eagle holding a deer in its claws, symbolizing
the "sky eagle" of the sun-god Mithra carrying up to heaven
H oma, the personification of water and vegetation. Th e animal
group is cast in high relief and enriched in Iranian fashion with
turquoise inlay.
Other Parthian j ewe] ry in the Museum consists of a round
fibula (fig. 5) and earrings (fig. 6) which show a combination of
several techniques practiced already in the ancient ear East. The
fibula, with an interesting architectural decoration in openwork,
shows filigree, granular work, blue cloisonne paste, and glass
pearls. The granular technique, going back to the Sumerian era,
was an elaborate process in which small gold seeds, placed either
in rows or clusters, were fused to the background.
The techniques and methods of decoration developed and perfected in the beginning of the Christian era continued in the
Sasanian era both in Iran proper and in the provinces of Mesopotamia and Syria . Openwork was greatly favored, as seen in several
necklaces in the Morgan collection (see fig . 7), some found in
Cyprus but doubtless of Syrian manufacture.

I n the jewelry of the Islamic period, which began in 62 2,

filigree came into greater prominence, gradually replacing granular work. W e find this filigree jewelry in Egypt, yria, and I ran ,
where it was often effectively combined with stone inlay and enamel inlay. I n the filigree technique, gold wires, straight or
braided, are arranged in geometrical designs, as seen in a pair of
F atimid earrings and a pendant with cloi onne enamel (fig. ) ,
which come from Egypt and may be dated in the middle of the
eleventh century.
e'\eral fine examples of Persian jewelry of the aljuk period
are in the Museum's collection. An earring in the shape of a bird
is entirely of filigree . The bird motive was greatly favored in the
decoration of jewelry as seen on the earring (fig. 9) with a
stamped and engraved openwork design . Another remarkable example of alj uk work is a pendant in the shape of a lion (fig. 10),
which was made in four parts. T he hair of the lion and details
of the face are in filigree of braided wire soldered to the background and forming an all-over design of small circles.
A fine specimen of later Persian jewelry is a signet ring of about
J4.oo, decorated with Chinese dragon heads in openwork, arabesques, and plant motives, which were introduced into I ran in
the fourteenth century by the Mongols and continued in the
fifteenth century.
The Museum's collection of Indian jewelry is very comprehensive and includes various types and techniques. This jewelry, worn
by men and women of all classes, often for ceremonial purposes as
seen in Mughal miniature paintings, is the most sumptuous known .
There are some pieces made of gold or silver alone; others are
richly set with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds or decorated with
enamel. Although none of the existing I ndian jewelry is much
older than the eighteenth century, it represents many designs and
methods of decoration going back to earlier periods. Some types
of jewelry were worn throughout I ndia, others are typical of certain localities. Floral decoration plays an important part in the
jewelry of I ndia. Some of the fine necklaces (see figs. I 2, I 9)
show clearly the influence of garlands of flowers and buds.

A favorite type of j ewelry of northern India is represented in

the Muse um by several magnificent necklaces (figs. 13- I 5) set
with precious ston es and pearls. Much of this jewelry was made
in Jaipur, which was particularly famous for its enamelwork. The
backs of the necklaces (see fig . I 6), bracelets (see fig. I 7), and
the head ornaments (see fig. I 9) show an enamel decoration of
flow ers in brilliant green, red, and blue on a white ground. In
some of the necklaces ( ee fig . I 4) the brilliancy of the stones is
enhanced by deep blue enamel.
'
Ancient ori ental trad ition is apparent in many bracelets and
armlets (fig. I 7) ending in dragons' heads. Some of them are of
plai n hollow gold; others are in openwork, forming various geom etrical patt erns.
A fine example of Indian j ewelry is the pendant in figure I 8
with the figure of Vishnu carved out of a deep blue stone, probably sapphire, su rrounded by guardian serpents, or N agas.
Much Indi an j ewelry in the Museum is made of silver, which
was worn by the common people (see fig . 20). It consists of necklaces, torques, bracelets, and anklets made in various districts, especially in Bombay. Some of the anklets are of heavy solid silver;
others are flexible, showing clusters of bells hanging from plaques
in the shape of elephants, such as the one in figure 20. The belt
of plaited wire with plaques showing animals and birds in relief
(see fig. 20) is typical work of M adras .
Other late Near Eastern jewelry in the Museum comprises a
great variety worn by the Arabs and by the Turks (including those
in the Balkan countries) . It is of silver or silver-gilt and set with
semiprecious sub tances rather than with precious stones. Two examples of heavy belt clasps (figs. 2I, 22) show the combination
of various techniques. In the piece on figure 2 I filigree forms the
main decoration . On the clasp in figure 22 we see the survi val of
granular work with settings of coral and turquoise. In other Turkish pieces large corals are used extensively in combination with
enamel.
M. S. DrMAND A o H. E. McALLI STER.
1/

I.

Gold and lapis lazuli jewelry of court ladies, from

tamia. Sumerian, 3 soo-2800 B . C .

111

M esopo-

2.

Go

ornamen s for garment .

cythian, V century

B.c .

3 G old clasp with stone inlay. Sarmatian, I-II century

collection.

A. D .

Morgan

4 Gold clasp with turquoise inlay. I ranian, Parthian period, I-II century A.D. Morgan collection .

5. Gold fibula with cloi,onne inlay. Iranian, P arthian period, I-II century A. D . Morgan collection .

6. Gold earnngs. Iranian, Parthian period, I-II century

A.D.

7. G old necklace. Syrian, VI-VII century

A. D .

Morgan collection.

8. Gold earrings and pendant with cloisonne enamel. Egypto-Arabic,

Fatimid period, middle of the XI century.

9 Gold earring. Persian,

10.

alj uk period, XI century.

Gold pendant. Persian, Saljuk period, XII century.

I I.

Gold signet ring . P ersian, about

I4-0 0 .

I 2.

G old necklace. I ndian, XVIII century .

1 3.

Gold necklace set with precious stones and pearls. I ndian, R aj putana
or Punj ab, XVIII century.

14. Gold necklace with precious stones and enamel decoration . Indian,
probably Jaipur, XVIII century.

5 Gold necklace VI ith stone and enamel decoration . Indian, Punjab,

XVIII century.

6. Back of gold necklace with enamel decoration. In dian,

XVII I century.

Jaipur,

7. Gold bracelets and anklet with preciOus stones, pearls, and enamel
decoration . Indi an, XVIII century.

1 8.

G old pendant with figure of Vi shnu .

I ndian, XVIII century.

9 Back of a head ornament with enamel

decoration . I ndian, Rajputana, XVIII
century.

21.

Silver-gilt girdle clasp with enamel decoration . Turkish, XVIII century.

22 .

Silver-gilt girdle clasp with stone inlay. Turki sh, XVII I century.

PICT U R E

I TA LI AN R ENA ISSA

BOO KS

1933

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T HE PRI VATE LI FE oF THE

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E r GHTEE TH - C ENTU RY C osTUME I N E uRO P E, I

HI STORI CAL A R MS A D A R MO R , I
T HE AMERI CAN W I
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vIEWS OF THE M USEUM A D T HE C LO IST E RS, I

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M E DI AEVAL S c uLPT U R ES oF THE VI R GI N AN D C H I L D,

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S cuLPT UR ES B Y Ar TOi r E L ours B ARYE,

AME RICAN C H IPP Er DALE F uRNITU RE,

I 940
I 940

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MI N IATU R ES, I 940

CHI NESE P Ar
P E RSIAN

93 5

T I NGS,

I 940
ANC I ENT EGY P T IAN j EWELRY, I 940
G REEK A D E T R USCAN J EWEL RY, I 940
NEAR EASTERN j EWELRY, I 940

S cuL P TU RE IN ARMS A D ARMOR,

C HI ' ESE J EWELRY,

1940

ME DI AEVAL j EWEL RY,

R ENA ISSANCE j EWELRY,

I 940
I 940

P ri ce twenty-five cents each

O thers in preparat ion

I 939

Printed in an edition of 1, 500 cop1es,

THE MusEu

PR Ess

O\'ember,

94-0