20673

Byzantine gold cross and chain 5-6th c AD

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:7,500.00 USD Estimated At:7,500.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Byzantine gold cross and chain 5-6th c AD
Byzantine gold cross and chain. 5th - 6th century AD. L. necklace, 14 7/8" (37.5 cm.), H. cross 1" (2.5 cm.). This finely made Byzantine figure eight loop-in-loop gold chain is preserved together with the original gold pendant cross it carried in antiquity. The cross is fashioned out of gold sheet, with granules of gold decorating each of its arms and a raised circular collet holding a green glass inlay at its center. A herringbone pattern is engraved on the front as well as back of the cross. For small gold crosses with granulation, see Die Welt von Byzantz, no. 526, pp. 310-311 and Art of Late Rome and Byzantium, no. 33, pp. 100-101. Formerly in an American Private Collection this piece has been published in Fortuna Fine Arts, Beloved by Time (2000), no. 216, p. 122 and To Dress in Gold (2004), no. 169.

Excellent state of preservation.