The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 23, 2023

Crescent-Shaped Earring

1000–1100

Byzantium, Constantinople?, Byzantine period, 11th century

Gold filigree with cloisonné enamel

Average: 2.3 x 2.6 cm (7/8 x 1 in.)

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1946.493

Location

104 Late Antiquity

Fun Fact

Small gold cells were created to hold enamel paste of different colors; when fired, they harden and appear jewel-like.

Description

The Byzantine lady who wore this earring may also have woven similar ornaments into her hair. Those who could afford it adorned not only their body but also their clothing with glittering jewels and shimmering gold.

Provenance
-1946
(Mrs. Paul Mallon, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art).
1946-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Walters Art Gallery (Baltimore, Md.), and Dorothy Eugenia Miner. Early Christian and Byzantine Art, An Exhibition Held at the Baltimore Museum of Art, April 25-June 22 [1947]. Baltimore: Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery, 1947. cat. no. 488
Exhibition history

Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Baltimore Museum of Art, MD (April 24-June 24, 1947).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1946.493