Harvard Art Museums > 1978.495.53: Coil Earring with Hanging Bead Jewelry Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Coil Earring with Hanging Bead , 1978.495.53,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 28, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/310603. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1978.495.53 Title Coil Earring with Hanging Bead Classification Jewelry Work Type earring Date 1st-5th century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World Period Roman period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/310603 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Hammered Dimensions 1.9 cm (3/4 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina is green and black. The piece does not seem to be complete. The end of the wire is broken off, and corrosion accretions distort the surface. The wire was created by hammering, as indicated by its multiple facets and uneven thickness. It widens toward the outside of the spiral and was flattened and bent (probably around a tipped tool) to start the curve. The wire holding the bead is flattened and splayed at the ends to secure the bead, which is made of blue glass and has three white oval inlayed outlines. Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2002) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Formerly in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, no. E-3674. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. Accession Year 1978 Object Number 1978.495.53 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums This earring consists of a wire that has been wound into five coils, with the outermost coil separated from the inner coils to form the hoop (1). A blue glass bead (0.92 cm wide x 0.57 cm high) with three areas of white circles is attached to the hoop with a wire attachment similar to a cotter pin (2). NOTES: 1. For a type of earring with a similar spiral section but without a bead, compare I. Stead and V. Rigby, Baldock: The excavation of a Roman and pre-Roman Settlement (London, 1986) 128-29, nos. 202-205, fig. 54; and C. Johns, The Jewellery of Roman Britain: Celtic and Classical Traditions (London, 1996) 134 (type 9). 2. For the style of bead, compare E. Riha, Der römische Schmuck aus Augst und Kaiseraugst, Forschungen in Augst 10 (Augst, 1990) 185-86, nos. 2793 and 2839, pls. 66 and 68. Lisa Anderson Subjects and Contexts Ancient Bronzes Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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
