**Originally Listed At $450**

Ancient Near East, Byzantine Empire, ca. 9th to 12th century CE. A lovely trio of beautiful silver hoop earrings with nice traces of gilt to the surfaces, each earring composed of an ovoid or near-spherical ball that is meticulously decorated; one is bisected by a rope work pattern and further adorned with attached granules; another is decorated with repeated granulated bands; and the third one further decorated with rope-patterned spirals dotted at the centers with a single granule. All of the spherical elements are flanked by attractive wire wrappings around the ends of the curved silver hoops. Size: largest hoop measures 1.25" in diameter (3.2 cm) w/ central ovoid element measuring .75" W x .625" H (1.9 cm x 1.6 cm)

During the 7th to 9th centuries, the Byzantine Empire was in a state of economic and social crisis, repeatedly rocked by invasions, plagues, famines, and other disasters - a time period often called "The Dark Ages". However, when these peoples emerged from that period, the elite of the Byzantine Empire wished to flaunt their wealth and embellish themselves with beautiful things. For example, in excavations of Byzantine graves from this period at Thessaloniki, jewelry like these earrings are found in great quantity in the graves of women. These would have been treasured items for a person living during this optimistic, dynamic time.

Provenance: ex-collection A. T., Munich, acquired in 1985

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#151320

Earrings show some perforations to the hollow spheroid centerpieces and some expected bending to the earwires. Nice traces of gilding grace the surface and the silver has developed a beautiful patina. Earrings could be set with modern fittings to be wearable.