Earring
Pearl and gold earrings. 'Each earring weighs 17.5 g and consists of an oval hoop about 4.5 cm long and 2.6 cm wide formed by a smooth gold rod (D 4.0 mm) terminating at either end in an eye (interior D 2.0 mm, exterior D 4.0 mm) formed of three turns of gold wire (D 1.0 mm). Five irregular ("baroque") pearls are strung on the hoop, separated by four gold beads (D 8.0-9.0 mm), each with five hemispherical protrusions bordered by granulated decoration consisting of a row of four or five tiny spheres (D 0.5-2.0 mm). The pearls are not identical in color; they are strung in a random arrangement that includes white as well as pale shades of cream, yellow, and gray. The pearls and beads occupy slightly more than half of the circumference of the hoop. One eye of the hoop is finished by a wrapping of six turns of wire, the other by a single turn of wire that then continues behind the pearls and beads and holds them in place with a further wrapping of nine turns. The arrangement of the pearls is roughly symmetrical based on size, with the center pearl apparently selected for its teardrop shape. The parts that may have attached the earrings to the ears are missing' (de Bruijn and Dudley 1995, 689).
Quantity
2
Weight
17.5 g
Material
Gold
Hoard
