Late Roman gold coin pendant with a solidus of Constantine the Great
Gold pendant in the form of an engrailed hexagon. In the center of the pendant is a double solidus (type of coin) of Constantine the Great, his bust facing left, wearing a radiate diadem, military garb (cuirass - leather torso armor - and paludamentum - military cloak), with his right hand raised in blessing. His left hand is held lower and holding his orb of office. In each angle of the hexagon is a bust in high relief, each in its own tondo. Moving clockwise from top left, a female bust with an elaborate coiffure, looking right; a female bust looking to the left; a bearded male looking to the left; a female bust looking to the left; a bust of Attis wearing a Phrygian cap looking to the right; and a female bust looking to the right. Each bust is enclosed in a tondo, framed by a circlet of beaded gold wire and a plain collar of gold sheet. The nterstices between the busts are decorated in opus interrasile, the design comprising a heart-shaped motif in plain reserved gold from which emanate two vegetal scrolls which in turn form a larger open-work heart; running scroll tendrils fill the spaces between the collars and inner and outer borders; the scroll tendril design is less skilfully replicated on the suspension loop.
Coin-set jewellery was popular during the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods. This pendant is one of four or five from the same necklace and is set with a double solidus of Constantine I (306-337) specially minted at Sirmium (present-day Sremska Mitrovica, in Serbia) in 321 CE.
The beautifully carved heads surrounding the coin are highly individualized, almost portraits. They probably represent mythological figures. Pierced work, opus interrasile, was a technique commonly used in jewellery of the period.
Late Roman, 321 CE, minted in historic Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica), Serbia, Balkans.
British Museum, London (1984,0501.1)
Late Roman gold coin pendant with a solidus of Constantine the Great
Gold pendant in the form of an engrailed hexagon. In the center of the pendant is a double solidus (type of coin) of Constantine the Great, his bust facing left, wearing a radiate diadem, military garb (cuirass - leather torso armor - and paludamentum - military cloak), with his right hand raised in blessing. His left hand is held lower and holding his orb of office. In each angle of the hexagon is a bust in high relief, each in its own tondo. Moving clockwise from top left, a female bust with an elaborate coiffure, looking right; a female bust looking to the left; a bearded male looking to the left; a female bust looking to the left; a bust of Attis wearing a Phrygian cap looking to the right; and a female bust looking to the right. Each bust is enclosed in a tondo, framed by a circlet of beaded gold wire and a plain collar of gold sheet. The nterstices between the busts are decorated in opus interrasile, the design comprising a heart-shaped motif in plain reserved gold from which emanate two vegetal scrolls which in turn form a larger open-work heart; running scroll tendrils fill the spaces between the collars and inner and outer borders; the scroll tendril design is less skilfully replicated on the suspension loop.
Coin-set jewellery was popular during the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods. This pendant is one of four or five from the same necklace and is set with a double solidus of Constantine I (306-337) specially minted at Sirmium (present-day Sremska Mitrovica, in Serbia) in 321 CE.
The beautifully carved heads surrounding the coin are highly individualized, almost portraits. They probably represent mythological figures. Pierced work, opus interrasile, was a technique commonly used in jewellery of the period.
Late Roman, 321 CE, minted in historic Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica), Serbia, Balkans.
British Museum, London (1984,0501.1)