Western Asiatic Gold Pendant with Beads
$494.19
A lovely Western Asiatic gold pendant with a beautiful range of adornments. The pendant is formed of a long straight stem which folds at the top into a small curved hook. On to this hook is attached a further piece of gold, closed in a circle, allowing the pendant to be strung. Directly beneath the hook, a teardrop shaped gold bezel is fixed to the stem, holding a captivating rounded garnet cabochon. Following the bezel, five beads are threaded onto the stem – two narrow, ribbed, gold, spacer beads; a stunning disc formed entirely of gold granules; a straight-edged pink coral bead; and a red, spherical, translucent glass bead with a milky pink surface colouration. The base of the stem is flattened to a wide rounded tip, so that the beads are held in place, whilst still allowing for movement.
N.B. it is likely that this pendant was altered at some point during antiquity as there are some discrete differences between the colouring of the gold stem and the gold beads attached, especially the granulated disc.
Suitable for modern wear with care.
Date: Circa 1st millenium BC - 1st millenium AD
Condition: Excellent Condition. There is a small surface chip on the right hand side of the garnet and a small dent to the base of the flattened tip of the stem.
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
