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Lot 233
1 May 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street£12,000 - £15,000
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A pair of Byzantine gold, garnet, pearl, and sapphire earrings
Circa 5th-7th Century A.D.
Each composed of three crescentic cloissoné garnets in the form of a pyramid, the underside of each crescent with a wire-set pearl, with three pendants hinged below, the central composed of a cabochon box-set garnet with blue chalcedony teardrop pendant, the outer each composed of a cabochon sapphire above a pear-shaped gold element, cylindrical blue glass or lapis bead, and pearl, held in place by a gold wire terminating in a hook, all suspended from a solid loop and ear hook, 3¾in (9.2cm) long including hook (2)
Circa 5th-7th Century A.D.
Each composed of three crescentic cloissoné garnets in the form of a pyramid, the underside of each crescent with a wire-set pearl, with three pendants hinged below, the central composed of a cabochon box-set garnet with blue chalcedony teardrop pendant, the outer each composed of a cabochon sapphire above a pear-shaped gold element, cylindrical blue glass or lapis bead, and pearl, held in place by a gold wire terminating in a hook, all suspended from a solid loop and ear hook, 3¾in (9.2cm) long including hook (2)
Footnotes
Provenance:
American private collection, New York, 1971.
Literature:
The crescentic detail is unusual, although similar cloisonné garnets are found in other examples of Byzantine and Migration Period jewellery. For earrings with similar components cf. L. Wamser, Die Welt Von Byzanz-Europas Östliches Erbe, 2004, p. 300, no. 496.
























