Long Vermeil Chain Composed Of Oval Filigree Links. Russian, 18th Century.

Silver-gilt long chain composed of oval filigree links. Russian, 18th century.

A silver-gilt long chain composed of oval filigree links.

Russian, 18th century.

Measures 150cm in overall length.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Russian men and women of all ranks wore long chains of heavy silver filigree. Russian filigree chains are usually made from scrolls of wire soldered together side by side to make individual links. This chain has links of two scrolls each, but wide chains can have as many as eight. Some chains were purely decorative, but most carried religious, devotional pendants.

The last two images of similar chains, also dating to the 18th century are from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Accession numbers; 135-1866 and 134-1866.