Large Western Asiatic Gold Ovoid Pendant

£ 625.00

A Western Asiatic gold pendant featuring a large hollow ovoid with vertical ridges and pierced through the centre. The piece is further enriched with delicate filigree, two horizontal rows encompass the centre with a smaller band framing each end. A gold pin holds the bead in place and ends in a gold terminal with a row of gold granules. Above sits an openwork gold bead displaying a circular design with a thin twisted wire attached at the bottom. The thick pin has been twisted at the top to form a suspension loop.

Date: Circa 1st Millennium -5th century BC
Condition: Excellent condition

SOLD

SKU: LD-467 Category: Tags: ,

Many grand civilisations inhabited the area of Western Asia in Antiquity, and their wealth and prosperity are witnessed by the very sophisticated precious metal crafting of jewellery. Gold would have been hammered down to a thin layer and manipulated into different shapes. Gold, electrum and silver jewellery would have featured gold granules, glass and semi-precious stone inlays and detailed engravings. Fine granulation, as we can see on this piece, along with filigree, were at the centre of Near Eastern and Western Asiatic jewellery production and were later adopted by the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans.

To find out more about different metal decorative techniques please see our relevant blog post: Decorative Metalwork Techniques

Weight 4.82 g
Dimensions L 3.9 x W 1.5 cm
Culture

Metal

Region