Made as an ornament for a donkey in Egypt, this long, narrow strip of thick, rough chamois leather has a thin, leather cord at the top, possibly for fastening to the donkey. The upper two-thirds of the main chamois strip is decorated by alternating horizontal bands of green and brown rows of beads, contrasting with a row of small cones fashioned out of metal and affixed to small oblong peduncles (stalks) of chamois. A short section of roughly textured chamois separates each decorative repeat. The lowest two-thirds of the leather strip has two wide bands of blue beads, again separated by sections of chamois below which are two rounded out-pouching of the chamois strip. The front of these rounded portions are outlined by a row of white beads and inside rows of green or brown beads. The uppermost rounded area has a teardrop shape of green and red beads in its center, and the lower portion has a wreath of blue beads. The backside of these rounded sections are hung with multiple layers of the cone-shaped metal decorations seen higher up on the front, although here the tube-like stalks are red and slightly longer.
Egyptian
Donkey Ornament,
Metal with chamois
,
33 cm (13 in.)
Object details
Accession number
U11n43
Primary Creator
Egyptian
Full title
Donkey Ornament
Creation Date
Provenance
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Dimensions
33 cm (13 in.)
Display Media
Metal with chamois
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Macknight Room
Rights and reproductions
The use of images, text, and all other media found on this website is limited. Please review Rights and Reproductions for details.
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.