Gold Necklace with Pendants

Byzantine

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301

The intricately worked pendants are separated by hexagonal spacers.

Opus interrasile was a technique used by goldsmiths to make elegant jewelry from the 200s through the 600s. Designs were traced onto sheets of gold; the background was punched with holes of various sizes to highlight the pattern; and fine details were then worked on the surface. The patterns formed by piercing the metal ground encouraged the play of light and shadow across an object's surface.

Gold Necklace with Pendants, Pendants: gold - sheet; scribed, engraved, chased, punched; wire - beaded; granulation.  Tubes: gold - sheet; wire - beaded.  Chain: gold - strip (half round)., Byzantine

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