Central Europe, Danube Region, possibly Ottomány (Otomani) culture, Late Bronze Age, ca. 1500 BCE. This is one of our favorite pieces, a beautiful and wearable collection of 3500 year old bronze! The necklace is composed of small, flat beads interspersed with six hanging double lunula pendants; the centerpiece is a large plaque with a punched line of stippling around its front edge. Size: 25.3" L (64.3 cm).

The Danube, Europe's longest river, rises in the Black Forest in modern-day southern Germany, and flows through major cities like Vienna, Budapest, and Belgrade, before draining through a large delta into the Black Sea. The river's name is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word for river, "danu". During the Bronze Age, prestige items like this one would have been traded along the length of the river.

A very similar piece is published in Cf. H. Müller-Karpe, Handbuch der Vorgeschichte Vol. 4. Bronzezeit (Munich 1980) 181ff., pl. 293 E9.

Provenance: Ex-private Swiss collection.

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#112417

Excellent patina; modern restringing on a leather band.