Byzantine
A pair of Byzantine gold openwork earrings, circa 6th - 7th century AD
Gold
Diameter: 4 cm; height: 4.5 cm
Weight: 9 g and 9.3 g each
Weight: 9 g and 9.3 g each
Of lunate openwork form, the ornate design with a central cross enclosed within a circle and flanked by two peacocks, their wings upraised, the crescentic elements bordered below by beaded...
Of lunate openwork form, the ornate design with a central cross enclosed within a circle and flanked by two peacocks, their wings upraised, the crescentic elements bordered below by beaded wire and pyramidal granulation, the wire hoop along the concave edge, tapering at one end to form the earwire, looped at the other end for the hook-and-loop closure, with chased and punched decoration. With modern gold hooks.
Provenance
With Galerie Archeologie Borowski, Paris, 1996French private collection, acquired from the above
Literature
This pair of earrings are a fine example of Byzantine openwork jewellery. Openwork jewellery is decorated with elaborate patterns in gold filigree, granulation, and wire on sheets of gold. These earrings may have been an engagement or a wedding gift intended to ward off the evil eye. For a discussion of the type, see L. Wamser et al., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, Munich, 2004, pp. 320-323; cat. nos. 607-609. For a similar example with peacocks see, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. BZ.1952.13.1–2 (currently on loan to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).1
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