The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Octagonal Pendant with Corinthian Column Spacers and Clasp Set

Octagonal Pendant with Corinthian Column Spacers and Clasp Set

324–26 CE
(probably Sirium or Nicomedia)
gold
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1994.98
Location: 104 Late Antiquity

Did You Know?

Using the opus interrasile openwork technique, a goldsmith delicately punched and filed hundreds of tiny holes to create the intricate filigree pattern on this pendant.

Description

Mounted at the center of this octagonal pendant is a rare coin issued by Constantine the Great, the Roman Empire’s first Christian emperor. Constantine’s portrait appears on the coin’s front, those of two of his sons on the back. Constantine’s image is surrounded by male and female busts, some of which are mythological figures. The pendant once formed the centerpiece of a sumptuous gold necklace, likely a gift for a high-ranking court official or member of the imperial family. This larger necklace is thought to have included four additional coin-set pendants—two hexagonal and two circular, now in Washington, DC (Dumbarton Oaks), London (British Museum), and Paris (Musée du Louvre).
  • ?-1994
    (Mr. Jean-Luc Chalmin, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1994-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Bergman, R. "A Gold Medallion from the Age of Constantine," The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine, vol. 35, no. 1 (January 1995). Cover, pp. 4-6. archive.org
    Deppert-Lippitz, Barbara. "Late Roman Splendor: Jewelry from the Age of Constantine." Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 1 (1996): 30-71. Reproduced: P. 31, fig. 1; P. 33, fig. 2a; P. 34, fig. 2b 20079681.
    Grierson, Philip. "Six Late Roman Medallions in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection." Dumbarton Oaks Papers 50 (1996): 139-45. Mentioned on pp. 141-142.
    Geroulanou, Aimilia. Diatrita: Gold Pierced-Work Jewellery from the 3rd to the 7th Century. Athens: Benaki Museum, 1999. Pp. 34, 36, 38, 84-86, 87, 90, 143, 154, 158, 194-195, 224-225, 228; Cats. 120 (fig. 43), 140 (fig. 259).
    May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. No. 16, pp. 21, 116.
    Dumbarton Oaks, Marvin C. Ross, Stephen R. Zwirn, and Susan A. Boyd. Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2005. Pp. 141-166, Plate CX, Figs. 3-6.
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 42-43, no. 4
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 258
  • Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).
  • {{cite web|title=Octagonal Pendant with Corinthian Column Spacers and Clasp Set |url=false|author=|year=324–26 CE|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1994.98