Pair of Hoop Earrings with Heads of Dionysos and Ariadne

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Pair of Hoop Earrings with Heads of Dionysos and Ariadne

Place of OriginHellenistic

Date2nd-1st century B.C.E.

Dimensions1/2 × 1 × 7/8 in. (1.3 × 2.5 × 2.2 cm)

MediumGold; repoussé, filigree, granulation.

ClassificationJewelry

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, by exchange

Object number

2008.165A-B

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionEach earring depicts a head, one of Dionysus, one of Ariadne. Each head fits into a collar which terminates in a twisted wire spiral. The spiral then forms a loop that hooks into a ring soldered onto the back of the head. Heads hammered from sheet gold in a circular die with at least two sections (seam visible across top of head from ear to ear). Details of fillet/forehead pendant, hair, eyes, nostrils, and mouths added by chasing and punching. The hoop of the earring is made from three flat gold strips twisted together, the ends hammered together and tapered to a point for insertion through the back of the earlobe, with hook and loop fastening. Head and hoop were joined by a conical collar of sheet gold tongues decorated with beaded wire filigree, attached both mechanically and with solder, with additional wire "necklaces" to strengthen t he join. Earrings, to be worn by a woman. Probably recovered from a burial, where the marriage and salvation after death symbolism would have made them particularly appropriate as symbols of the afterlife.

Label TextThe Hellenistic world had a craving for gold jewelry and the elite commissioned vast amounts of it for personal adornment, temple offerings, and funerary gifts. Craftsmen perfected the art by using various techniques such as repousśe (molded from the back), filigree (twisted threads of precious metal), and granulation (“grains” or small balls of gold attached to a surface). The two hollow heads were shaped in the same die mold. A ribbon across his forehead differentiates the god Dionysos from his bride Ariadne.Published ReferencesAntiquarium, Ltd., Ancient Treasures V (New York, 2007), p. 29