Necklace

Most Italian traditional necklaces are made of beads, in designs which have been worn for centuries.

This necklace is made from hollow gold beads, as thin as paper, strung on red silk cord, with long red ribbons to fasten it. The beads are decorated with applied filigree decoration, which is always described as Etruscan work in Victorian sources. The same decoration is found on many other kinds of jewellery from northern Italy.

In the 19th century Italian women usually used silk ribbons to fasten their necklaces and pendants, but these ribbons were fragile and easily destroyed. The ones shown here are rare survivals, saved by the V&A's early interest in authenticity.

This necklace was bought for £12 as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.