GREEK HELLENISTIC GOLD EARRINGS WITH FEMALE HEADS 4th-1st century BC A matched pair of gold earrings, each a tapering curved shank formed from twisted rods, ropework collar and female head with curly hair, loop to the reverse. 11 grams, 27-28mm (1"). Fine condition. [2] Provenance Ex property of a London gentleman; acquired 1990s. Literature See Marshall, F.H. Catalogue of the Jewellery - Greek, Etruscan and Roman - in the Department of Antiquities, British Museum, London, 1968, item 1806-8 for type. Footnotes The heads of Maenads, the female followers of Dionysus (Bacchus), god of wine, were one of the most common motifs on Greek earrings. Their popularity begins in the fourth century BC, peaking in the later third and early second centuries and on into the Roman period. Earrings decorated with the heads of Maenads were particularly popular in the Thracian regions and this may be due to the cult of Dionysus originating in Thrace and considered as a national god.
GREEK HELLENISTIC GOLD EARRINGS WITH FEMALE HEADS 4th-1st century BC A matched pair of gold earrings, each a tapering curved shank formed from twisted rods, ropework collar and female head with curly hair, loop to the reverse. 11 grams, 27-28mm (1"). Fine condition. [2] Provenance Ex property of a London gentleman; acquired 1990s. Literature See Marshall, F.H. Catalogue of the Jewellery - Greek, Etruscan and Roman - in the Department of Antiquities, British Museum, London, 1968, item 1806-8 for type. Footnotes The heads of Maenads, the female followers of Dionysus (Bacchus), god of wine, were one of the most common motifs on Greek earrings. Their popularity begins in the fourth century BC, peaking in the later third and early second centuries and on into the Roman period. Earrings decorated with the heads of Maenads were particularly popular in the Thracian regions and this may be due to the cult of Dionysus originating in Thrace and considered as a national god.
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