A rare Fatimid enamelled gold pendant, probably Egypt of Syria, enamel plaque possibly Byzantine, late 10th-early 11th century

gold body of box construction with crescent-shaped field at the centre with a gold cloisonné inset with decoration in polychrome enamels in red, blue, green and opaque white comprising three palmette heads on scrolled stems, the borders with granulation and filigree beading and scrollwork, the edge with four annular hoops for suspension (originally five, one missing), and a fifth loop attached to a rope-twist element at the head of the pendant, the reverse with granulated openwork filigree

This remarkable little pendant combines three decorative techniques: filigree, granulation and cloisonné enamelling. The quality of the goldsmith's work and the refined enamelling suggests a prestigious commission, possibly for a royal patron.

The technique of granulation was popular in Syria and Egypt in the early medieval period and involves the fusing of grains of more than one size onto paired twisted wires. In his extensive study published between 1908 and 1918, Marc Rosenberg suggested a chronology for medieval goldwork based on an evolution of techniques. Following Roseberg's hypothesis of the "battle of granulation and filigree" the present example should be dated to the 10th-11th century when granulation was still the dominant decorative form (M. Rosenberg, Geschichte der Goldschmiedekunst auf technischer Grundlage, vol.3, Munich, 1918, pp.96-103; M. Jenkins and M. Keene, Islamic Jewellery in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1982, p.80).

Two comparable pendants in the Metropolitan Museum of Art are attributed by Jenkins and Keene to "Fatimid Egypt, 11th century" (ibid., pp.80-83, nos.47 and 49a). One bears no granulation but has a detachable cloisonné enamel inset (inv. no. 30.95.37), whilst the other (inv. no.1974.22) has lost its inset but has granulated designs on the reverse which are close to the present example. A further three pendants sold in these rooms, 12 October 2000, lot 111, and now in the Aga Khan Museum Collection, are attributed to Fatimid Egypt following Jenkins and Keene's conclusions (see Spirit & Life. Masterpieces of Islamic Art from the Aga Khan Museum Collection, London, 2007, p.91, no.63).

The date of manufacture of all these pieces can be securely established through archaeological finds of related material. A hoard of medieval gold jewellery found in Tunisia in the early part of the 20th century included eighty-two gold coins, all but nine minted in the Fatimid province of Ifriqiya, ranging in date from 1003 to 1045 (G. Marçais and L. Poinssot, Objets kairouanais IXe au XIIIe siècle, Tunis, 1952, vol.II, fasc.2, pp.467-93). The Charilla and Lorca hoards from Muslim Spain, as well as the gold set in the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore (inv. no.57.1596) also suggest a date in the late 10th or first half of the 11th century (see Dodds 1992, pp.222, no.19).

Whilst the Walters set has been attributed to al-Andalus in the Taifa period (ibid., p.222), more recent publications tend to follow Jenkins and Keene's attribution to Fatimid Egypt.  Whilst one cannot rule out more than one centre of production (and indeed it seems quite likely that there were a number of different workshops), primary sources such as the Geniza documents, confirm that Cairo and its industrial quarter Fustat, was a major centre of luxury jewellery production in the Fatimid period. One Geniza document mentions the mother of the Zirid ruler, Sharaf-ad-Dawla al-Mu'izz (r.1016-1062), importing gold jewellery from Egypt to Tunisia in the 1030s (N. Stillman, "The Eleventh Century Merchant House of Ibn 'Awkal (A Geniza Study)", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 16, 1973, part 1, p.57, table 8; Jenkins and Keene, op. cit., p.80).

A further area of scholarly discussion is the origin of the cloisonné enamel plaques. Since these are manufactured separately and inset rather than being integral to the design, it has been suggested that they may have been imported from Byzantium which was celebrated for its luxury enamel production (Spirit & Life, 2007, p.91). An 11th-century source records the Byzantine King Michael sending gifts to the mother of the Fatimid Caliph, Imam al-Mustansir bi-Allah (r.1035-95) comprising "five chests... of jewellery enamelled... with glass in five colours: deep red, snow white, jet black, sky blue, deep azure... fashioned in the best goldsmith's work (from Qaddumi, quoted in H.C. Evans, and W.D. Wixom, eds., The Glory of Byzantium. Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843-1261, New York, 1997, p.420).