AN EASTERN ROMAN GOLD "FLORAL" AMULET, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

拍品描述

AN EASTERN ROMAN GOLD "FLORAL" AMULET, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D. Of teardrop form, worked in sheet gold and surmounted by a looped suspension hook rising from a coiled collar. The face is dominated by a circular medallion set in the lower two-thirds, framed by a beaded outer border and an inner band of twisted rope-work enclosing a laurel or wheat-ear wreath in fine granulation. At the centre of the medallion sits an applied rosette of pointed petals radiating from a granulated boss. The upper register, above the medallion, is set with an inlay of red stone or glass in the form of a stylised drop, flanked by applied gold volutes and, at the shoulder, a small crescent motif in filigree. The reverse, as visible through the losses, retains traces of the reddish-brown backing paste that once supported the thin gold sheet. The combination of motifs carries the visual language of astral and vegetal protection common to amuletic jewellery of the eastern provinces. The rosette, with its radiating petals and central boss, functions as a solar device, while the crescent placed at the upper terminal completes the sun-and-moon pairing that recurs across Roman and Parthian talismans of the period. The red inlay, set apart above the rosette in the form of a flame or tear, reinforces the protective character of the piece; red stones and glass, and garnet in particular, were widely held to avert the evil eye and to guard the wearer against harm. The wreath encircling the central rosette belongs to the same repertoire of victory and preservation drawn from the wider Graeco-Roman tradition. Gold jewellery of this scale and technique was produced across the eastern Roman world from Syria through Asia Minor and into the client kingdoms of the near east, where Hellenistic granulation and filigree traditions continued to be practised by local goldsmiths well into the Roman imperial period. The very light weight, at a single gram, indicates that the ornament is built up from a thin sheet backed with an organic or mineral paste, a construction method that allowed elaborate frontal display at minimal cost in bullion and is characteristic of amuletic pendants intended to be worn in numbers, sewn to garments, or strung with beads. The survival of granulation and rope-work filigree at this fineness reflects the retention of Hellenistic goldsmithing knowledge in the provincial workshops of the second century. This pendant exemplifies the eastern Roman amuletic tradition in which apotropaic meaning is carried entirely by ornament: a solar rosette, a lunar crescent, a red inlay, and a protective wreath assembled on a sheet-gold ground. It stands as a small but complete example of provincial goldsmithing at the meeting point of Hellenistic technique and near-eastern talismanic practice. Dimensions: Height: 3.3 cm

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