IMG_7101
Gold necklace with coin pendants
Roman, 3rd century A.D.
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Two openwork pendants are suspended from a double chain of figure-of-eight loops. Each pendant is set with an aureua (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.
IMG_7101
Gold necklace with coin pendants
Roman, 3rd century A.D.
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Two openwork pendants are suspended from a double chain of figure-of-eight loops. Each pendant is set with an aureua (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.