Byzantine Gold Earrings with Gemstone Drops
6th-7th century A.D. A pair of gold earrings, each with a tapering hoop and chain suspending a cross set with polished garnet at the centre and a pearl bead to each arm, drop positioned at the centre of the chain composed of a gold stem with coiled wire sleeve, granulated bead and emerald bead below. Cf. for similarly complex drop earrings see Ross, M.C., Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Volume 2: Jewelry, Enamels and Art of the Migration Period, Washington, 2005, pl.LXXXII, item 166, pl.LXV, item 132, and similar crosses on a necklace in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York under reference 17.190.1667. 13.6 grams total, 90-96 mm (3 1/2 - 3 3/4 in.). Acquired 1980-2015.Ex Abelita family collection. [2]