Greek, Hellenistic, ca. 4th to 3rd century BCE. A stunning diadem featuring gold laurel leaves with embossed lanceolate leaves, each one carefully cut from gold sheet and skillfully impressed with leaf vein detailing, attached to a modern headband. The gold sheet is too delicate to test; however, its saturated yellow hues lead us to believe it is of a high karat, perhaps 18 to 24 K. Size: 14.25" L x 5.5" W at widest (36.2 cm x 14 cm); largest leaf measures ~ 1.5" L x 1.25" W (3.8 cm x 3.2 cm)

The diadem is one of the oldest and most characteristic articles of women's jewelry that originated in the Greek world. While wreaths and coronets were worn by men as signs of social or political status, and as funerary objects, diadem were worn solely by women, usually strictly for decorative purposes. Numerous examples in gold have been found in necropolises in southern Italy, Macedonia, and on the Black Sea coast, testifying to the great refinement of Greek jewelry-making during the Hellenistic period, and to the widespread diffusion of decorative motifs throughout the Mediterranean basin.

A Hellenistic gold diadem sold at Christie's New York for $4,375 (9 December 2008, lot 246). See http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-greek-gold-diadem-hellenistic-period-circa-5158062-details.aspx. Other fine examples may be found in museum collections such as the Louvre Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Provenance: Ex-private collection of James Farmer, Maryland, collected from major galleries and auction houses between 1995 and 2005

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Some leaves are missing, some are curled/bent, some show tiny losses and mineral deposits. Remarkable that those remaining have survived the tests of time