Gold necklace with coin pendants

Unknown

3rd century CE · Gold · Greek and Roman Art

Two openwork pendants are suspended from a double chain of figure-of-eight loops. Each pendant is set with an aureus (gold coin) of the Emperor Alexander Severus (r. A.D. 222–235). Their different sizes and the second spacer suggest that additional pendants are now missing from the chain. The use of coins in jewelry became very fashionable in the third century and persisted until the early seventh century.

Artist

Unknown

Date

3rd century CE

Medium

Gold

Culture

Roman

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917