Western Asiatic Geometric Gold Pendant
$243.97
A Western Asiatic gold pendant, featuring a mirrored decorative design, repeated on both its front and back. The piece is comprised of two rhombic bezels arranged vertically with the top one presenting a pierced hole. A dangling triangular bezel with large gold granules decorating the corners (the lower one now missing) is attached beneath the rhombi. The bezels are embellished with gold granules around their perimeters. A loop is attached to the top of the pendant for suspension.
Date: Circa 1st Millennium BC- 1st millenium AD
Provenance: Ex Japanese gentleman’s deceased collection, 1970-2010
Condition: Very fine condition, one of the granules on the triangle is missing, earthly encrustation is visible to the surface.
In stock
Many grand civilizations inhabited the area of Western Asia in Antiquity, and their wealth and prosperity is 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 item, 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
