Jewelery - Fatimid Jewellery
Three enamelled pendants made of gold
Size: Length: 3.2 cm, 2.9 cm or 2.6 cm
Origin and time: Egypt or Syria, 10th - 11th centuries
Catalogue: Schätze des Aga Khan Museum, AKTC
Inv. No. AKM 00594
Exquisite objects such as cases for miniature Qur’an manuscripts or jewellery in the form of necklaces with double-tapered and circular pearls, pendants and several rings made of golden filigree and decorated with granules reflect the great craftsmanship of goldsmiths in the Fatimid Egypt and Greater Syria during the 10th and 11th centuries.
The crescent (hilal) shape was particularly popular. Semi-precious stones or pearls may have been suspended from the loops on each pendant, which was made of typical Fatimid wire creations featuring filigree and gold strips ornated with granules. The rings and the double-tapered pearl illustrate characteristic Fatimid filigree arabesques and wire loops. Filigree work is described as muššabbak (lattice work) in the documents of the Cairo Genize of the 12th century, one of the most important sources for research in the Medieval Mediterranian area. AF
