Ancient Greece, ca. 4th to 3rd century BCE. Yowzah! These earrings were definitely created to impress - and that they do! Comprised of high quality gold (90% gold, equivalent to 20K+) as well as inlaid gemstones - red carnelian or garnet round cabochons as well as translucent green emerald rectangular inlays - they are the epitome of opulence! The gold spheres are covered with delicate spikes. They are suspended from wire-wrapped hoops with gold flower-shaped ornaments at the front which house the red garnet or carnelian cabochons, and below are the beautiful green emerald inlays in rectangular bezels. At the opposite end of the hoops are pairs of gold granules (one missing on each). Both are set to modern French hooks to be wearable. Total weight: 16.7 grams. Size: 1.125" L x .875" W (2.9 cm x 2.2 cm)
Published in "To Dress in Gold: Jewelry of the Ancient World." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 2004, cat. no. 65.
Exhibited and published in catalogue for "Dressed to Kill in Love and War: Splendor in the Ancient World" (February 1 - March 31, 2019 - Academy Museum, Easton, Maryland, USA, fig. 43, p. 11, discussion p. 3). According to Curator Sarah E. Cox, "All classes of women in the ancient world wore jewelry, which was considered both as adornment and as visible evidence of wealth. Many of the surviving pieces, particularly earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, were preserved because they were buried with the deceased. Others were accidentally lost in baths or toilets, or due to the vicissitudes of nature and war."
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; Exhibited and published in catalogue for "Dressed to Kill in Love and War: Splendor in the Ancient World" (February 1 - March 31, 2019 - Academy Museum, Easton, Maryland, USA, fig. 43, p. 11, discussion p. 3); Published in "To Dress in Gold: Jewelry of the Ancient World." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 2004, cat. no. 65; ex-Madame Frances Artuner collection, Belgium, acquired in the 1960s
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#146279
Condition
Stones are excellent. Earring forms as well. Just missing a couple of gold granules. Earrings are ancient. Set to modern French hooks to be wearable.