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| Armband with a Herakles knot, Hellenistic, 3rd–2nd century b.c. Greek, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
The knot is composed of inlaid garnets set between two large rectangular cabochons. Its design is enriched by a flowering plant bearing six gold blossoms and a whorl of leaves at its base. The large center leaf is represented by an emerald, and the lesser leaves were enameled in green, which survives on only one small leaf. Distal to the garnet cabochons are imbricated filigree bands with extensive traces of reddish purple (manganese), green, and possibly white enamel. According to the Roman writer Pliny, the decorative device of the Herakles knot could cure wounds, and its popularity in Hellenistic jewelry suggests that it was thought to have the power to avert evil.
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| Pair of armbands, Hellenistic, ca. 200 b.c. Greek, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
These imposing serpentine armbands represent two tritons, male and female, each holding a small winged Eros. The hoops behind the tritons' heads were used to attach the armbands to the sleeves of a garment, for otherwise their weight (each over 6 1/2 ounces) would have caused them to slip down the arms.
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| Bracelet with central medallion, Hellenistic, 2nd century b.c. Greek, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
The most distinctive feature of this bracelet or armlet is the treatment of the outer surfaces of the hoops, which are covered with a delicate network of filigree created by placing parallel rows of wire in a zigzag pattern and dotting the points of contact with granules. This unusual decoration is best paralleled in a few exceptional works from Thessaly. It is a rare forerunner of a popular kind of Roman bracelet featuring twisted hoops and hinged box settings decorated with gemstones.
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| Openwork hairnet with medallion, Hellenistic, 200–150 b.c. Greek, Ptolemaic, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
This hairnet, with its combination of delicate filigree, carefully hammered decorative bust, and spool-shaped beads, is a superb example of the Hellenistic goldsmith's skill. The medallion represents the head of a maenad, a female follower of the god Dionysos, wearing spiral earrings, a wreath of vine leaves and grapes, and a panther skin.
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| Hinged ring, 2nd–1st century b.c.; Hellenistic Greek, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
This large and flamboyant ring belongs to an unusual group of finger rings distinguished by the fact that they are hinged. Despite their wide distribution across the Mediterranean world and the minor variations in their design, this and the few other known examples were mostly likely produced in a single workshop. The size of the hexagonal bezel set with a plain but impressively large oval garnet and the circular bezel with a smaller garnet placed on the bottom of the ring suggests that it was meant to be worn on the thumb, and in fact the hinge mechanism allows it to be fitted securely onto the thumb below the knuckle. The mechanism, with its tiny gold pins, must have been rather awkward to open and shut, however, and probably required the assistance of a servant. The use of garnets is typical of jewelry of the late Hellenistic period, when it became fashionable to decorate gold ornaments with colorful exotic gemstones and pearls. This ring is a striking example of the extravagant and ostentatious lifestyle of the rich in the Hellenistic world.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
