Pair of Earrings

5th‐4th century B.C.
Gold
Each H. 1.9 cm, W. 3.0 cm
A gold sheet was formed so that cross section formed a half-circular spiral form. The surface of the spiral is decorated by coiled gold wire in two places. This style of earring can be from Bronze Age Cyprus, and is a jewelry type that can be found widely throughout the Greek world. These are particularly large for earrings, and they are thought to have been used as fasteners for hair or ribbon clusters more so than as earrings per se.

A rich variety of styles can be found in the earring group, and there are many more earrings than those found in the Oxus treasure. These earrings can be basically divided into two groups: simple items and elaborated items. The simple earrings are simply open loops, or those with small fasteners. The other group includes pendants in addition to the fasteners. There are more of the open loop form, and as there is no clear difference in period between the different styles of simple forms with small granules or rings for attaching pendants, it is hard to assign dates to these works. The works with small fittings for inlay or granulation are thought to date from the Hellenistic period. The majority of these earrings are made of silver with gold plating, and they were the work of skilled craftsmen.

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