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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.661.A
Title
"Sappho" Earring
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
earring
Date
4th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Thessaly
Period
Classical period, Late, to Early Hellenistic
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/290608

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Gold
Dimensions
actual: 7.8 x 2.1 cm (3 1/16 x 13/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Reportedly from a hoard found near Halmyros (ancient Halos), Greece, 1929 [1]. David M. Robinson, Baltimore, MD (by 1953), bequest; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1960.

[1] Robinson, D.M. 1953. "Unpublished Greek Gold Jewelry and Gems." American Journal of Archaeology 57 (1):5-19.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson
Accession Year
1960
Object Number
1960.661.A
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Earring. Rosette with garnet in center supports four chains which attach to platform containing small female playing lyre among trefoil leaves. At corners of platform, four volutes suspend ribbed ball pendants. Beneath platform, five balls and finial.
Commentary
The Mediterranean saw an enormous influx of wealth after the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great in the 330s BCE. New techniques, forms, and materials for jewelry were introduced to a the cosmopolitian elite of wealthier society that wanted fashionable, luxurious goods, especially in gold. Earrings proliferated in the Hellenistic period and are often found preserved in tombs or as dedications in sanctuaries. Jewelry was worn in daily life, making a pair of earrings like these a fitting grave good to accompany the dead to provide them comfort in the afterlife.

These earrings were thought by archaeologist David M. Robinson to have been part of a hoard of jewelry and coins reportedly found at Halmyrus, Thessaly, northern Greece, in 1929 and distributed on the market [1]. Robinson called the female figure “Sappho” after the Greek female poet from the island of Lesbos, on account of the figure's lyre, but noted that she could just as well represent a muse.

[1] Robinson, D.M. 1953. "Unpublished Greek Gold Jewelry and Gems." American Journal of Archaeology 57 (1):5-19.

Publication History

  • David M. Robinson, "Unpublished Greek Gold Jewelry and Gems", American Journal of Archaeology, Archaeological Institute of America (New York, 1953), vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 5-19, pp. 15-16, pl. 21 fig. 42, pl. 22 fig. 43, pl. 23 fig. 44
  • Ancient Art in American Private Collections, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1954), no. 309, pl. 86.

Exhibition History

Related Works

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu