Plaque for a Collar or Necklace
Unknown Artist
8th century?
Medium
Steatite, gold, mother of pearl
Dimensions
H.13/16 in. (2.1 cm) W. 13/16 in. (2.1 cm) D. 1/4 in. (0.6 g) Wt. 0.12 oz. (3.4 g)
Classification
Jewelry
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1912
Accession Number
12.182.117
Art Historical Context
This delicate plaque, designed to adorn a collar or necklace,ails from the 8th century (or thereabouts) in the Islamic world. Crafted from steatite—a soft, fine-grained soapstone—measuring just 13/16 inches square and weighing a mere 0.12, it exemplifies the exquisite miniaturization of early Islamic jewelry Luxuriously inlaid with gold and shimmering mother-of-pearl it reflects the era's mastery of mixed-media techniques, where carvers shaped the steatite base before embedding precious accents for a luminous, jewel-like effect. In the context of Islamic art, such plaques were status symbols ...