A pair of Seljuk gold bracelets, Persia, Khurasan, 12th century

The form of the bracelets, broad with a twisted, ribbed band, derives from earlier Central Asian prototypes, adapted and elaborated within Seljuk workshops. The motifs, including stylized floral forms and rosette patterns, align with the wider decorative vocabulary of Seljuk art, seen across metalwork and manuscript illuminations. Close parallels may be drawn with an armlet in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc.no. 57.88a–c) dated to the 11th century.

Gold bracelets of this type belong to a well-established tradition of personal adornment in the Seljuk world, which at its height in the 11th–12th centuries extended across much of Iran, Iraq, and Anatolia. Within this geographically expansive and culturally interconnected sphere, jewellery functioned within a complex social framework, shaped by courtly display, urban wealth, and enduring nomadic customs. Gold ornaments in particular were closely associated with elite identity, and their circulation reflects both local production and broader patterns of exchange along trade routes linking Central Asia to the eastern Mediterranean.

For an 11th century Seljuk gold armlet which sold in these Rooms, see Sotheby's London, 30 March 2022, lot 90.