SOLD Antique, 17th – 18th century, gold gilded silver, jeweled Aigrette (a bracket for a plume of feathers attached to Ottoman turbans, or to the Polish and Hungarian nobles, magnates, hat ornaments, szkofia).
The Aigrette of different form was used as the turban ornament in Ottoman Turkey, Persia, and the Mughal Indian. During the 16th -18th century, by contact with the Ottoman Empire, they were adopted by Hungarian and Polish nobles, together with ottoman garments and weapons. These types of the Aigrette in Turkish Ottoman fashion were made in Hungry, particularly in Transylvania, and in Poland, in the city of Lwow by Polish Armenians specializing in manufacturing luxury products in Turkish Ottoman style, known as “Armenian goods”. Since there are no silver hallmarks, we are not able to make certain if this object is an Ottoman, or is made by Hungarian or Polish silversmiths during the 17th -18th century in the Ottoman style.

DETAILS: Extremely well made of many separate elements of gold gilded solid silver, soldered together and adorned with arabesque motives, and set with turquoise and red jewels, most likely garnets. The Aigrette comes with very fine black Aigrette feathers, fastened by threads to the back of the Aigrette. There are remains of the pin, which originally was used to attach the Aigrette to the hat, but the silver wire of the pin was at some time cut off.

MEASUREMENTS: Overall length with the feathers: 37.2 cm (14 5/8 in).

Overall length of the silver bracket with out the feathers: 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in).

WEIGHT: 72.6 g.