Necklace (Pectoral)
First half of the 4th century BC
Greek work
Gold, enamel; diam 18.4 cm
This necklace, of original form, technique and decoration, was found during excavations of the Bolshaya Bliznitsa burial mound in 1868. It is part of the attire of a Bosporan priestess to Demeter, goddess of fertility. The open work frieze, consisting of a row of rams, goats, dogs and hares soldered together, is inserted between two bands of egg-and dart ornament and twisted wires. The necklace ends in lions' heads, and the details are finished with granulations and engraving; the leaves and flowers are encrusted with blue enamel. Each of the figures, executed almost in the round, was fashioned separately and mounted on transverse bars. The pectoral was probably created by a Bosporan goldsmith in the late Greek Classical tradition.
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