Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Temple Pendant (Kolt) with Two Birds
"Kolty" (singular "kolt") are pendants that attached to a woman's headdress at the temples. The hollow space within the two concave gold disks that compose a "kolt" contained perfumes or scented oils. The pendants were usually decorated on both sides, since they could rotate as the woman walked. This "kolt" is decorated with delicate cloisonné enamel, a technique learned from Byzantine masters starting in the late 10th century. "Kolty" were frequently worn at wedding ceremonies; the lilies (center), birds, and seeds that fleck the birds' breasts are all symbols of fertility. The bird is also an image retained from Russia's pagan past.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henri Daguerre, Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1925, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2010 | Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. |
| 2006-2009 | Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1996-1997 | Russian Enamels. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1979-1980 | Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1959-1960 | Russian Art: Icons and Decorative Arts from the Origin to the Twentieth Century. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Ukraine, Kiev
(Place of Origin)
Turkey, Istanbul (Constantinople) (Place of Discovery)
Measurements
2 1/16 x 1 7/8 x 5/16 in. (5.2 x 4.7 x 0.8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1925
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
44.302