Chain bracelet

Chain bracelets of silver or gold were popular throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. In this example, the botanical motifs and the colour of enamelling on the clasp suggest a date of about 1640.

During the Renaissance and Baroque periods bracelets were often worn in pairs, as they had been in the ancient world. It is likely that this bracelet was once one of a pair.

 

The woman is wearing a pair of bracelets very similar to the one shown here. The angle of her clasped hands means that only one bracelet is clearly visible, the other almost hidden from view. The fashion for these bracelets was widespread in Northern Europe.