Earring

Description

Earring - a traditional women’s silver ornament intended to be worn on the ear. The museum object is made from a thin silver plate and has a semicircular form. Both edges are shaped into projecting sections containing through-holes. A curved hook used to attach the earring to the earlobe is fitted through the holes. The front surface is decorated with geometric ornamentation executed by soldering and embossing.
Semicircular earrings of this type were used as everyday and decorative women’s jewellery. Making the object from a thin silver plate reduced its overall weight. The hook fitted through the holes is the principal structural component used to secure the earring to the ear. The geometric ornamentation on the front surface emphasises the decorative and artistic qualities of the object.
The museum object is an ethnographic source illustrating traditional women’s adornment practices, the manufacture of silver earrings, the forging and forming of thin metal plate, and the decoration of jewellery by embossing and soldering.