Armband in the Form of Snake
Date: Hellenistic Greek, possibly Ptolemaic, about 200-100 BCE
Dimensions:
H: 4 in. (10.2 cm); Diam: 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm)
Medium: Gold with enamel inlays
Place of Origin: Greece
Classification: Metalwork
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1973.31
Label Text:Alexander the Great’s conquest of the ancient world ushered in an age of opulence and wealth evidenced through the surviving jewelry of the period. Jewelry sets such as these two armlets and ring in the form of snakes were popular. The armlets would have been worn on the upper arm and are exact mirror images of each other. The small ring was actually not intended to be worn on the finger as it is larger than the distance between a finger joint and first knuckle. Instead, it is thought to have been used to secure tresses of hair.
On view
In Collection(s)