Gold Laboratory
By Gioielleria Dogale 

Typical Venetian jewels... the blackamoors

The baroque blackamoor broochs you can see on our sites www.venicejewels.com and www.webjewels.it are products of the local goldsmith’s tradition, born from the original synthesis, which took place in Venice, of different cultural trends.The origins of the blackamoors go back to ancient times, when the Saracen pirates plagued the Dalmatia’s coasts. During the Hellenistic age  in Fiume (Istria) similar golden earrings with black and white enamel decorations were produced, having a talisman function. During the centuries of the Turkish invasions, the populations of the coasts always wore them and gave them to the churches as thanks for the avoided danger. So the amulet came to Venice, not to exorcise sea attacks, but to represent the enslaved Turkish pirate.
In the course of history we find blackamoors in the Carpaccio representations, as a quiet gondolier with turban and feathers, part of a beautiful lagoonal scenography; and also in a famous novel by Hemingway.

As the dominion of the Serenissima on the Adriatic consolidated, the earring representation disappeared to give its place to different objects - with different meanings - for the representation of the blackamoors. In our century the originality and phantasy of the Venetian people created an endless variety of blackamoors representations: bust and tuban have become a space where the best local goldsmith’s techniques are represented, with fretworks, engravings and filigrees. In recent times the monochromatism often prevailed with pearls, brilliants, emeralds or rubys for an extremely selected clientele like noble and royal families; even Grace Kelly owned a blackamoor.

The blackamoors have been appreciated also by persons of international prestige as Barbara Hutton, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Rubenstein, Elton John,Liz Taylor, and continue to be a longed-for object for élite collectors and for the international fashion. The royal family of Spain has recently purchased in Venice beautiful blackamoor broochs. There are some really ancient and valuable blackamoors, destined to few; some of them are particularly big (12 cm.), which are to be observed more than worn, and these are appreciated most of all by American people;