bracelet(?)
- Museum number
- 1884,0614.13
- Description
-
Gold ornament in form of Herakles knot. The Herakles knot is formed from hollow tubes bordered by beaded wire and decorated with spirals of fine spiral-beaded wire. There are granules in the centre of each spiral and in the interstices. Thick spirals of partially spiral-beaded wire are inserted into the ends of the tubes. At the back of the knot is a central rib that probably had a hook at either end for attachment to the rest of the ornament.
In the centre of the Herakles knot is a small, wingless Eros, formed in the round from sheet gold. There is a row of dots across his chest and he holds a bow in his right hand.
- Production date
- 300BC-250BC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 1.50 centimetres (of figurine)
-
Height: 3.50 centimetres
-
Weight: 11.10 grammes
-
Width: 2.20 centimetres
-
Depth: 1.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Williams and Ogden 1994
Traces on the back of the figure suggest the original presence of wings and, perhaps, the re-use of the figure from a previous ornament, probably an earring.
Figures appear in the centre of a number of Herakles knots (e.g. Hermitage X.1899.7; Williams and Ogden 131), but they are usually orientated the other way. There seems to be a certain degree of curvature in this knot and it is possible that it came from a bracelet: the Tuch el-Karamus bracelet has a figure similarly orientated in the centre of its Herakles knot (Williams and Ogden p.225), as does a bracelet in Izmir.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: BMCJ 2001; Pfrommer, HK 150, pl. 5, 9. Tuch el-Karamus: Pfrommer, pl. 8, 1. Izmir: Grece d'Asie, pl. 52 (left).
ding a bow.
- Location
- On display (G22/dc5)
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2018 May-Sep, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of History, An Age of Luxury
2019 Apr-Aug, Barcelona, CaixaForum, An Age of Luxury
2019-2020 Sep-Jan, Madrid, CaixaForum, An Age of Luxury
2020 Feb-May, Seville, CaixaForum, An Age of Luxury
- Acquisition date
- 1884
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1884,0614.13
