As in many ancient societies, jewellery was an important social marker used to demonstrate wealth and richness. In Ancient Greek culture jewellery was worn in everyday life but was also buried with the decease as part of his or her funerary outfit. Jewellery might have been enriched by precious and semi-precious stones and decorative motives would have included popular myths, gods, goddesses, and heroes. Earrings such as these became very popular from the 6th century BC onwards and thicker models have been found also in the Greek colonies of south Italy. The most common models included many zoomorphic heads, such as bulls’, lions’, goats’ heads and dolphins. Jewellery such as this was crafted for everyday use, instead of being destined exclusively to a funerary purpose.
Greek Hellenistic Earrings with Lion Head Terminals
£ 975.00
A finely rendered pair of Greek Hellenistic gold earrings. The earrings are formed from a coiled circular wire hoop, which tapers towards one end and features a lion head terminal on the other. The lion’s head is modelled from a thin gold sheet, and displays naturalistically rendered facial features and a detailed mane. The tapering end closes the earring by hooking into the lion’s mouth. This fine pair of earrings testifies the refinement of gold working in Ancient Greece during the Hellenistic period.
Condition: Extremely condition. Minor encrustation to the surface.
In stock
| Weight | 1.83 g |
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| Dimensions | L 1.4 cm |
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