The Seljuks fashioned much of their jewelry from sheet metal and embellished it with stones. Heavy claws hold a turquoise on a high, truncated bezel that is decorated with engraved leafy arabesques and a Kufic inscription (“blessing”), picked out in niello (a mixture of gold, silver, lead, and copper sulfides).
Details
Artist | Islamic, Iranian |
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Title |
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Date | 1100s |
Medium | gold, turquoise, and black compound |
Dimensions | Overall: 1 1/4 × 5/8 inches (3.2 × 1.6 cm) |
Credit Line | Founders Society Purchase with funds from Mrs. Charles C. Andrews |
Accession Number | 1993.69 |
Department | Islamic Art |
On View | Islamic N120, Level 1 (see map) |
Signed, Marks, Inscriptions
Inscriptions | Inscribed, side: al-baraka [translated: blessing] |
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Provenance
(Said Motamed, Frankfurt, Germany);
1993-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
1993-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
Published References
Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The DIA. Detroit, 1995, p. 123 (ill.).