Ancient Greece, Hellenistic, ca. 3rd to 1st century BCE. A lovely example of ancient Greek goldwork, this 86% gold (equivalent to 20K+) strap end of a diadem features several motifs. From left to right - a pinwheel, a concentric circle, and an elegant bird - framed by a beaded border. Just imagine how this sumptuous item would have looked when worn in a woman's hair, gleaming in the natural light of the sun or the warm glow of an oil lamp. Size: 3" L x 0.8" W (7.6 cm x 2 cm); quality of gold: 86% (equivalent to 20K+); weight: 2 grams.
The diadem is one of the oldest and most characteristic articles of women's jewelry that originated in the Greek world. While wreaths and coronets were worn by men as signs of social or political status, and as funerary objects, diadem were worn by women as luxurious decorative ornaments. Numerous examples in gold have been found in necropolises in southern Italy, Macedonia, and on the Black Sea coast, testifying to the great refinement of Greek jewelry-making during the Hellenistic period, and to the widespread diffusion of decorative motifs throughout the Mediterranean basin.
Provenance: ex-Frances Artuner collection, Belgium, collected in the 1960s
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#156133
Condition
This is a fragment of a larger diadem strap end. Losses to remaining portion of body and small area of rounded tip as shown. Minor creasing and bending to body, with light softening to some finer details, and sharp edges along areas of loss. Great remaining iconography and patina throughout.