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Pair of Earrings

A work made of gold and glass.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of gold and glass.

Date:

1st century

Artist:

Roman; probably Egypt

About this artwork

For both men and women in the Roman world, jewelry functioned as a visible sign of wealth, social standing,
and gender. Artists of the time created some works in accord with earlier Hellenistic and Etruscan preferences
for the extravagant and conspicuous use of gold. Over time, imperial expansion increased Romans’ access to a variety of valuable materials, leading to a distinctly Roman taste for jewelry incorporating color—typically in the form of gemstones or glass, as seen in these earrings.

Status

On View, Gallery 153

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Roman

Title

Pair of Earrings

Place

Roman Empire (Artist's nationality)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1 CE–100 CE

Medium

Gold and glass

Dimensions

Gold balls: Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.); H.: 4.5 cm (1 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1892.24a-b

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/593/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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