Gold ring. Alexander the Great, presented as Heracles. wearing the lion's skin. Late 4th- early 3rd cent. B.C.E.
When Alexander the Great conquered the Persian empire in 331 BCE, his domain extended from Greece to Asia Minor, Egypt, the Near East, and India. This unprecedented contact with distant cultures not only spread Greek styles across the known world, but also exposed Greek artists to new influences. An increasingly rich society demanded luxurious objects, especially gold jewelry. With excellent skill, Greek artists did ornate designs, such as the Heracles Knot.
Hellenistic armband with Heracles' Knot in the middle. The Knot was supposed to keep evil away.( 3rd-2nd cent.B.C.E )
After Alexander conquered the Persian empire and seized Babylon, vast quantities of gold circulated. The market for fashionable gold jewelry exploded. Even after Alexander, his successors for centuries supported flourishing industries of artists and craftsmen, the most important of whom were associated with the Hellenistic royal courts.
Armbands which show a pair of Tritons. Each of them holds an Eros. circa 200 B.C.E.
A wide variety of jewelry types were produced in the Hellenistic period—earrings, necklaces, bracelets, armbands, thigh bands, rings, wreaths, diadems, and elaborate hair ornaments. Many pieces were inlaid with pearls and gems or semi-precious stones—emeralds, garnets, carnelians, banded agates, sardonyx, chalcedony, and rock crystal. Artists also incorporated colorful enamel inlays. Elaborate designs drew plant and animal motifs, or the relation between adornment and the goddess, Aphrodite, and her son Eros. Airborne winged figures, such as Eros, Nike,Dionysos and the eagle of Zeus carrying Ganymede up to Mount Olympus, were popular designs for earrings.
Earrings with two heads of Maenads . 3rd cent. B.C.E.
Belt with images of Dionysus riding a lion. Circa 1st cent. B.C.E. - 1st cent. C.E.
It’s especially important to note the Hellenistic era marked the first time ever that jewelry deviated from being magic or devotional and became something to enhance the wearer’s personality.
It was the Greeks that gave birth to the modern idea of jewelry as a form of self-expression.
Gold hairnet of the Ptolemaic era.The center shows a Maenad with a wreath of vine leaves.
No comments:
Post a Comment