The jewelry of classical Greece

Magazine Antiques, Dec, 1994 by Joan R. Mertens

If the sculptural reference in the Athena pendants is unmistakable, it may be inferred in the case of the earrings from Pantikapaion on the western coast of the Black sea. Each consists of a female head as noteworthy for the severe expression as for the magnificent regalia of pendant earrings, a double-strand necklace with a bull's head at the front and a Herakles knot at the back, and an almost disproportionately large diadem decorated with polychrome palmettes. The over-all emphasis on grandeur rather than femininity leads one to discern a strong statuesque, if not actually sculptural, ingredient.

The interrelation between mortals and deities, which is one of the constant features of Greek art, is manifested in a variety of ways in classical jewelry. The pair of earrings in Plate XIV can be singled out for its quite extraordinary iconography. The disk at the top of each and the boat-shaped pendants are encrusted with floral motifs that also shelter winged Nikai reining in their fiery horses. From a row of rosettes hang a series of pendants in the form of seed pods, which also appear on the strap necklaces. These could be regarded as simply generic floral ornaments were it not for the pendant images of tiny swaddled infants. The motif is highly unusual when not required by a specific situation such as the birth of Dionysos, or the gravestone of a child. In the context of the earrings even the most cautious will find it difficult to avoid finding some connection with fertility and the perpetuation of humankind, perhaps even the Greek people in particular. Such small details open extraordinarily broad vistas.

The imminence of life, a perceptible energy, emanates from every work in the exhibition. With the oak wreath in Plate XIII, the slightest stir of air animates the acorns on thin wires and the delicate leaves within which nest two cicadas and a bee. Even in jewelry without natural forms, the combination of motifs and handling of the materials produce a comparable vibrancy. The diadem in Plate XI, for example, has as its centerpiece a Herakles knot in which the slow curves of sparkling, twisted wire sashay around a garnet. Flanking the knot are imbricated gold and enamel sections that provide a transition to the band. While the band could have been made of flat sheet gold, it instead consists of three twisted gold ribbons that introduce a gyrating motion of highlight and shadow, crisp edge and broad trough. Every element is in proportion to every other and to the whole so that for all its magnificence, the diadem is not ostentatious.

The small scale of the objects in the exhibition rewards those who bring patience and a searching eye. Jewelry is an aspect of the classical Greek achievement that has tended to be either minimized or overlooked. However, it is worth considering that the calculations in millimeters that assured the stability of the Parthenon also underlie the structure and harmony of a pair of earrings.

The exhibition entitled Greek Gold: Jewelry of the Classical World was conceived, assembled, and realized by Dyfri Williams, the keeper of the department of Greek and Roman antiquities at the British Museum in London, where the exhibition opened. It will be on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from December 2 until March 26, 1995, and at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from May until August 1995. The catalogue to the exhibition was written by Williams and Jack Ogden.