Silver Gilt Hair Pin – Kandyan, Sri Lanka or Ceylon

Silver-Gilt Open-work Hair Pin

This relatively large hairpin is fashioned from gilded silver. The blunt end is finished with a small, square chased plaque. The four-sided top end of the shaft is decorated with four panels of open-work scrolling foliage and stylised chased orchid motifs. The pin terminates in a sharp spear-like end.

Overall, this is a very fine example of increasingly rare Kandyan antique jewellery. The open-work orchid pattern is crisp and fine.

A near-identical hairpin is on display in the Jospeh E. Hotung Gallery of Asian art at the British Museum.