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Spool earring
Italic, Etruscan
Archaic
6th century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Gold
Dimensions
Overall: 1.5 x 1 x 0.8 cm (9/16 x 3/8 x 5/16 in.)
Overall (with 95.91): 2.8 gm (0.01 lb.)
Overall (with 95.91): 2.8 gm (0.01 lb.)
Credit Line
Catharine Page Perkins Fund
Accession Number95.90
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Earrings, flares, plugs, studs
Description“A baule” or spool earrings consist of sheet metal rounded at one end and rolled into a spool. A hook at one end of the earring either passed through the earlobe or a suspension hoop in the ear.
The upper zone is pediment-shaped with a palmette design drawn in filigree wire in the center. Small cup-shaped attachments are placed at the corners of the triangle.
The central zone is filled with rosettes; small sheet metal rosette attachments are set in the four corners of the square, each with a bead in the center. Small open cups, edges cut to resemble a rosette, are placed in the interstices of the corner rosettes. A larger rosette composed of open hoops of filigree wire is placed in the center of the square; it is encircled with a border of plain and beaded filigree wire.
The lower decorative zone is divided into three long rows (separated by fluting and filigree wire).
The upper zone is pediment-shaped with a palmette design drawn in filigree wire in the center. Small cup-shaped attachments are placed at the corners of the triangle.
The central zone is filled with rosettes; small sheet metal rosette attachments are set in the four corners of the square, each with a bead in the center. Small open cups, edges cut to resemble a rosette, are placed in the interstices of the corner rosettes. A larger rosette composed of open hoops of filigree wire is placed in the center of the square; it is encircled with a border of plain and beaded filigree wire.
The lower decorative zone is divided into three long rows (separated by fluting and filigree wire).
ProvenanceBy 1894: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Warren's records: said to have been found together [with 95.87 and 95.91] at Mytilene.1894); 1895: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 29,857.37 (this figure is the total price for MFA 95.9-95.174)