Graeco-Roman earrings with gemstones
Price: on request
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Object number
AR3298B
| Object: |
Pair of Graeco-Roman earrings with gemstones
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| Material: |
Gold sheet and wire. Gemstone of red garnet. Bead of white glass.
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| Period: |
Late 4th century BC to 3rd century AD, Hellenistic to Roman Imperial period. |
| Description: |
Matching pair of gold earrings. Each earring has a basic crescent shape created from a tube of gold sheet bent into a semicircle that tapers towards the ends and then extends to a gold wire clasp. At one end of the tube is an oval mount for the clear red gemstone. At the center of the tube is a gold wire that holds a cylindrical white glass bead. Both earrings probably had a core, possibly made of bitumen. The jewellery pieces do not show any production differences, they must have belonged together also originally. The design points to a Greaco-Roman goldsmith of the Eastern Mediterranean, probably Egypt or the Levant. |
| Dimensions: |
Each 16mm long and 18mm high. Weight 1.5g. |
| Condition: |
Fantastic condition. Both pieces with the elaborate hollow body still in shape and the gemstone and bead in place. One piece with the seam on the hollow body slightly opened but stable.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us in 2022 on the German art market. Previously in the German collection Dr. R. Neumeister. Acquired before 1992.
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| References: |
For pieces with a similar hollow body but without the gemstone see F. H. Marshall, Catalogue of the Jewellery Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the Departments of Antiquities British Museum, plate LIII, no. 2464. British Museum, no. EA18249. A piece from Egypt. B. Fay, Ancient Egyptian Jewelry, p. 42ff, acc. nos. VÄGM 91-86 and VÄGM 90-86. A very similar piece with a garnet gemstone is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 17.192.103. The museum dates it later though. |
| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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