Gold Necklace with Amethysts, Glass, and Gold Beads
Unknown Artist
6th–7th century
Medium
Gold, amethyst, (colored glass or rock crystal and emerald) beads
Dimensions
Overall: 17 9/16 x 9/16 x 1/4 in. (44.6 x 1.4 x 0.6 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Gold
Culture
Byzantine
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.1652
Art Historical Context
This exquisite Gold Necklace with Amethysts, Glass, and Gold Beads hails from the Byzantine Empire of the 6th–7th century, a golden age of opulent craftsmanship during the reign of emperors like Justinian I and his successors. Crafted from gleaming gold, vibrant amethysts, and colorful beads—possibly glass, rock crystal, or even emerald—the necklace measures a delicate 17 9/16 inches in length. Its slender profile (just 9/16 x 1/4 inches) speaks to the wearer's elegance, likely an elite woman in Constantinople or a provincial court, where such jewelry symbolized wealth, piety, and imperial spl...