Byzantine, 6th century A.D.

Gold

H: 1.3 cm

PROVENANCE: Ex- European private collection, 2001

SERIAL NO: 14323

The synthesis of Greek and Near Eastern design is also evident here in a pair of Byzantine gold earrings in the shape of a nude woman. The head of the woman portrayed in the earrings recalls the maenads, the female followers of Dionysus; the youthful features depicted on the earrings are wonderfully detailed for their size. The enlarged, spherical face spirals are a Greek motif, the exaggerated feminine form resembles a posture on a ship’s prow.