Gold Necklace Artist: Unknown

A.D. 213–56

Ancient Art

On view, 1st floor, Dura-Europos

This gold necklace was found in a private house, in an earthenware jar that also contained a hoard of coins. It was probably buried for safekeeping during the Sasanian attack of Dura-Europos. The necklace must have been a highly valued possession, both for its precious material and for its exquisite workmanship. The intricate braided chain suspends a pendant that is composed of a circle with four pelta designs. Minute gold beads adorn the pendant’s perimeter, and four tiny beads hang from its lowest point. This technique, known as granulation, appears in Greek jewelry as early as the second millennium B.C.

Medium

Gold and Bronze

Dimensions

l.: 15 7/16 in. (39.2 cm)
diam. of pendant: 11/16 in. (1.7 cm)

Credit Line

Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos

Accession Number

1932.1732

Geography

Excavated in Dura-Europos, Syria

Culture

Syrian, Dura-Europos

Period

Roman (2nd or 3rd century A.D.)

Classification

Jewelry

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Excavated by the Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos (block B8, private house, room 2), present-day Syria, 1928–37; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • Jennifer Chi and Sebastian Heath, eds., Edge of Empires: Pagans, Jews, and Christians at Roman Dura-Europos, exh. cat. (New York: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, 2011), 70, no. 73, fig. 3–14
  • Lisa R. Brody and Gail Hoffman, eds., Dura-Europos: Crossroads of Antiquity (Boston: McMullen Museum of Art, 2011), 363, no. 61, pl. 61
  • Susan B. Matheson and Diana E.E. Kleiner, I Claudia Women in Ancient Rome, exh. cat. (New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1996), 178, no. 139, ill
  • Handbook of the Collections, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1992), 273, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

necklaces

Technical metadata and APIs

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