Pair of Earringsc. 2nd-3rd century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Pair of ancient gold hoop ornaments densely covered with granulated spheres set in twisted wire collars, with ribbed terminal caps

Title: Pair of Earrings
Culture: Parthian or Sasanian
Place Made: Iran
Date Made: c. 2nd-3rd century
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Diameter: 1 5/8 in. (4.2 cm)
Credit Line: Museum Acquisition Fund
Accession Number: M.88.78a-b
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Ancient
Curatorial Notes: Under the Sasanian dynasty (224−651), jewelry, including earrings, was an important form of personal adornment for men and women, although relatively little has survived. Much of our information on jewelry for this period derives from depictions in a variety of mediums, especially silver-gilt vessels, coinage, and rock-cut reliefs depicting the ruler and ruling elite. One point to be gleaned from such imagery is that earrings were sizable and showy, like this rare pair. Large hoops such as these are sometimes shown hanging from a royal ear with another ornament above or below them, perhaps representing garnets or lapis lazuli, as stones in this period were selected more for their color than their preciousness.

The earrings are intricately constructed and display several different types of goldsmithing techniques. Their surface is decorated with rows of gold rope shaped into circles alternating with gold grain appliqué. The latter involved working individual dome shapes from sheets or strips of gold that were then carefully soldered to the surface. The elaborateness of Sasanian jewelry influenced adornment made in the Islamic world, seen for example in the use of gold rope and grain on an eleventh-century pendant (M.81.7).

2024

Pair of Earringsc. 2nd-3rd century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Title: Pair of Earrings
Culture: Parthian or Sasanian
Place Made: Iran
Date Made: c. 2nd-3rd century
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Diameter: 1 5/8 in. (4.2 cm)
Credit Line: Museum Acquisition Fund
Accession Number: M.88.78a-b
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Ancient
Curatorial Notes: Under the Sasanian dynasty (224−651), jewelry, including earrings, was an important form of personal adornment for men and women, although relatively little has survived. Much of our information on jewelry for this period derives from depictions in a variety of mediums, especially silver-gilt vessels, coinage, and rock-cut reliefs depicting the ruler and ruling elite. One point to be gleaned from such imagery is that earrings were sizable and showy, like this rare pair. Large hoops such as these are sometimes shown hanging from a royal ear with another ornament above or below them, perhaps representing garnets or lapis lazuli, as stones in this period were selected more for their color than their preciousness.

The earrings are intricately constructed and display several different types of goldsmithing techniques. Their surface is decorated with rows of gold rope shaped into circles alternating with gold grain appliqué. The latter involved working individual dome shapes from sheets or strips of gold that were then carefully soldered to the surface. The elaborateness of Sasanian jewelry influenced adornment made in the Islamic world, seen for example in the use of gold rope and grain on an eleventh-century pendant (M.81.7).

2024