Palermo

Composed of a monumental Sicilian processional rosary and a Castilian pendant, this necklace preserves the memory of a ceremonial jewel in which splendour, devotion and social representation are closely entwined.

In seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Spanish popular culture, marriage jewels held a singular place. Worn by women during festive occasions, they were distinguished by the abundance of chains and necklaces from which they were suspended. Such profusion was never incidental: it reflected the wealth of the household, while the most prestigious examples, fashioned in gilt silver, displayed a particularly sophisticated ornamental vocabulary.

These adornments, often accompanied by Christian symbols, belonged to a language that was at once social and symbolic. Scholars have thus suggested that they may have been associated with the idea of female fertility and motherhood, situating the jewel within the horizon of marriage, fecundity and transmission.

What once belonged to the realm of celebration and faith now rests upon the skin.
Palermo is a Love Jewel.