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Earring

ca. 1st–2nd century
Not on view
This elaborate gold earring features a boat-shaped ring with a pendant "amphora" vase suspended from it that is decorated with three rows of arched perforations and both granular and filigree decoration. A ring at the vase’s bottom indicates that an additional pendant originally hung from it. Five pomegranates hang from rings attached to the pendant vase (there were seven originally); pomegranates, associated with fertility, were a popular subject in jewelry from the ancient Near East. The earring’s production date is determined in part because its design is very similar to a pair discovered buried in a cache in the city of Seleucia that is dated between 40 and 120 A.D.

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. 1st–2nd century
  • Geography: Mesopotamia or Iran
  • Culture: Parthian
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: L. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)
  • Credit Line: Museum Accession
  • Object Number: X.94
  • Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art

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