Ancient Greek Gold Pendant with Pomegranate-Shaped Beads

£ 495.00

A very fine Ancient Greek gold pendant featuring a cluster of pomegranate-shaped beads and a suspension loop on the top. Each bead is further enriched by gold granules, arranged in clusters. Such pendant has been adapted from an earring in ancient times, with the suspension loop modelled from ancient electrum. Gold earrings with pendants comprising clusters of gold beads have been recovered across many civilisations in Antiquity. However, the peculiar shape of the gold beads, resembling pomegranates, might link the pendant to Cypriot or Greek culture.

 

Date: Circa 1000-500 BC
Condition: Fine, with small amount of earthly encrustations on the surface, and a small hole in one of the pomegranates. Ideal for modern wear with care.

SOLD

SKU: CS-20 Category: Tags: ,

In Ancient Greek mythology, the pomegranate was a symbol of abundance, fecundity and prosperity. Hades was known to have given pomegranate seeds to his lover Persephone, as a token of safety, while she was leaving the underworld to join her mother Demeter in the human world. The pomegranate became also a symbol of the indissolubility of marriage, hence they were used not only as a decorative motif on jewellery, but also on terracotta artefacts and vessels.

Weight 1.71 g
Dimensions L 1.9 x W 1.0 cm
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