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Earring

ca. A.D 1st–2nd century
Not on view
This pair of exquisitely crafted gold earrings take the form of scroll-handled vases composed of hollow balls designed to resemble grape clusters and soldered together with granules. The vases themselves are soldered to large rings, and hollow cylindrical bases at their bottom tips each have four additional hollow balls soldered to them.

Parthian wealth obtained through lucrative trade networks resulted in substantial patronage of the arts and luxury goods including jewelry. In addition to surviving examples, representations of earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and frontal bands appear in funerary portraits from Palmyra and statuary from Hatra.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Earring
  • Period: Parthian
  • Date: ca. A.D 1st–2nd century
  • Geography: Mesopotamia or Iran
  • Culture: Parthian
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: 1 5/8 × 1/2 × 1/2 in. (4.2 × 1.15 × 1.15 cm)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1935
  • Object Number: 35.29.1
  • Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art

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