Necklace Formed of Fifteen Dress Ornaments

Transylvania

ca.1600 · Gold, enamel, ruby and pearls. · Robert Lehman Collection

This necklace was assembled, probably in the nineteenth century, from fifteen clothing ornaments dating to the early seventeenth century. The prevalence of these ornaments, called boglar, in sixteenth and seventeenth-century inventories of Hungarian women, suggests that they were relatively inexpensive, a theory supported by the minimal use of precious metal. The jewels were frequently marked on the back, presumably by the maker, with initials; in the case of the present work, “GK” and “HB”.

Artist

Transylvania

Date

ca.1600

Medium

Gold, enamel, ruby and pearls.

Culture

probably Transylvanian, possibly South Germany

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975