Details

LOT 0218

Roman Gold Linked Chain

1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

18 1/4 in. (28.15 grams, 46.5 cm long).

Loop-in-loop chain, each link formed from two strands of thick gold wire; thick hook with the end coiled about the shank; eye with ribbed detailing and coiled end; housed in a custom-made display case.

Provenance

Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Important North West London collection.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11937-210478.

Literature

Cf. Marshall, F.H., Catalogue of the Jewellery, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the Department of Antiquities, British Museum, London, 1911, pls.LVIII (no.2734), LIX (no.2727 and especially 2716), LX (2736), and LXI (2738), for the same style of chain rings.

Footnotes

Among the necklaces manufactured from gold mesh (hormoi or chains), there are two recognisable fundamental types: the first, shorter and with endings suitable for being fixed on fabric, was used to adorn clothes, hooked at shoulder height. The second type (like our specimen) was worn around the neck and was generally fitted with a simple hook-and-eyelet closure.