Harvard Art Museums > 1960.661.A: "Sappho" Earring Jewelry Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation""Sappho" Earring , 1960.661.A,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/290608. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1960.661.A Title "Sappho" Earring Classification Jewelry Work Type earring Date 4th century BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Thessaly Period Classical period, Late, to Early Hellenistic Culture Greek Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/290608 Physical Descriptions Medium Gold Dimensions actual: 7.8 x 2.1 cm (3 1/16 x 13/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Reportedly from a hoard found near Halmyros (ancient Halos), Greece, 1929 [1]. David M. Robinson, Baltimore, MD (by 1953), bequest; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1960. [1] Robinson, D.M. 1953. "Unpublished Greek Gold Jewelry and Gems." American Journal of Archaeology 57 (1):5-19. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson Accession Year 1960 Object Number 1960.661.A Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Earring. Rosette with garnet in center supports four chains which attach to platform containing small female playing lyre among trefoil leaves. At corners of platform, four volutes suspend ribbed ball pendants. Beneath platform, five balls and finial. Commentary The Mediterranean saw an enormous influx of wealth after the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great in the 330s BCE. New techniques, forms, and materials for jewelry were introduced to a the cosmopolitian elite of wealthier society that wanted fashionable, luxurious goods, especially in gold. Earrings proliferated in the Hellenistic period and are often found preserved in tombs or as dedications in sanctuaries. Jewelry was worn in daily life, making a pair of earrings like these a fitting grave good to accompany the dead to provide them comfort in the afterlife. These earrings were thought by archaeologist David M. Robinson to have been part of a hoard of jewelry and coins reportedly found at Halmyrus, Thessaly, northern Greece, in 1929 and distributed on the market [1]. Robinson called the female figure “Sappho” after the Greek female poet from the island of Lesbos, on account of the figure's lyre, but noted that she could just as well represent a muse. [1] Robinson, D.M. 1953. "Unpublished Greek Gold Jewelry and Gems." American Journal of Archaeology 57 (1):5-19. Publication History David M. Robinson, "Unpublished Greek Gold Jewelry and Gems", American Journal of Archaeology, Archaeological Institute of America (New York, 1953), vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 5-19, pp. 15-16, pl. 21 fig. 42, pl. 22 fig. 43, pl. 23 fig. 44 Ancient Art in American Private Collections, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1954), no. 309, pl. 86. Exhibition History Ancient Art in American Private Collections, Fogg Art Museum, 12/28/1954 - 02/15/1955 The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961 A World Within Reach: Greek and Roman Art from the Loeb Collection, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/28/2023 - 05/07/2023 Related Works 1960.661.B "Sappho" Earring Jewelry Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
