Object Note
Part of an ensemble consisting of three more items in the collection (ZI2020.500734 ASIA, ZI2020.500734a ASIA, and ZI2020.500734b ASIA).
Object History
This red, black, and ivory pair of woman’s woollen earrings with metalwork native to the Balochi/Baluchi tribes native to Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India was purchased by Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli from a dealer based in southern Iran, in 2020 to be added to The Zay Initiative collection. It was part of an ensemble along with a set of (shalvar) and (pashk), and a necklace all of which are also part of the collection.
Object Features
This is a pair of women’s ear ornament or earrings with metal – possibly brass – trimmings. Each piece of the pair is made of a diamond-shaped black felt embellished with black, red, white, and touches of blue wool with possibly (buttonhole_stitch) and (cross_stitch) embroidery in a talismanic design, and has metal plates, possibly made of brass hammered into the fabric.
The metal plates adorning the earrings have embossed or carved floral and geometric designs. A large pink tassel made of silk floss threads hangs from the middle and flanked by two small medallions made of metal with a crown motif embossed on them. This crown motif is possibly the Qajar crown that adorned the top of Qajar currency and seals and was often accompanied by a lion and a sun – shir o Khurshid – motif.
The presence of these medallions thus testifies that this piece and the rest of the ensemble that accompanied it possibly originated in present-day Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran.
Links
- Valérie Bérinstain, Mary Hunt Kahlenberg, Zaira Mis, Marcel Mis. Asian Costumes and Textiles from the Bosphorus to Fujiyama: The Zaira and Marcel Mis Collection. California: Skira, 2001.
- Suleman, Fahmida. Textiles of the Middle East and Central Asia (British Museum) The Fabric of Life. London: Thames and Hudson, 2017.
- Embroidery from Afghanistan Fabric, folios. Sheila Paine. Washington: University of Washington Press, 2006.
- Sukhareva, Olʹga Aleksandrovna. Suzani: Central Asian Decorative Embroidery. Samarkand: SMI Asia, 2013.
- https://balochistanlovers.wordpress.com/2016/02/07/balochi-culture/
- https://www.pakpedia.pk/balochi-culture/
- https://www.encyclopedia.com/fashion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/asia-central-history-dress
- https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/clothing-COM_7759?lang=fr#COM-10186
- https://www.persiscollection.com/product/agate-lion-and-sun-necklace/
- https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces216069.html
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