Unknown
Necklace with Female Medallion 2nd–3rd centuries CE

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Necklace with Female Medallion
Culture: Egypto-Roman
Place Made: Egypt (?)
Date Made: 2nd–3rd centuries CE
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Length: 15 1/2 in. (39.37 cm)
Credit Line: William Randolph Hearst Collection
Accession Number: 50.22.21
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture: Greek and Roman
Curatorial Notes: This finely crafted Roman Egyptian necklace features a medallion, probably bearing an image of Medusa, the gorgon who turned those who gazed at her into stone. Medusa served an apotropaic function, averting evil from the wearers of her likeness. This type of gold necklace, along with a related example (50.22.20), was popular in Roman Egypt during the second and third centuries CE, as evidenced by jewelry depicted in the lifelike Faiyum portraits of that period.

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Necklace with Female Medallion
Culture: Egypto-Roman
Place Made: Egypt (?)
Date Made: 2nd–3rd centuries CE
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Length: 15 1/2 in. (39.37 cm)
Credit Line: William Randolph Hearst Collection
Accession Number: 50.22.21
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture: Greek and Roman
Curatorial Notes: This finely crafted Roman Egyptian necklace features a medallion, probably bearing an image of Medusa, the gorgon who turned those who gazed at her into stone. Medusa served an apotropaic function, averting evil from the wearers of her likeness. This type of gold necklace, along with a related example (50.22.20), was popular in Roman Egypt during the second and third centuries CE, as evidenced by jewelry depicted in the lifelike Faiyum portraits of that period.