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Source Description

One of the most common types of Langobardic jewelry, the basket earring derives its name from the hemispherical "basket" of gold wire as in this example. The front disk of gold is inlaid with gold wire cells for four red glass or garnet inserts arranged like the arms of a cross around a central, circular cell filled with a rounded green stone or glass. A triad arrangement of one large and two small circular gold wire circlets fills the space between the garnet inlays and creates a ring around the cross. A thick, flattened lip of gold decorated with hatching and cross-hatching overlays the outer edge of the disk where it joins the basket. On the front of the hoop are a row of five cells for red glass or garnet inlays, of which three are still filled. The sides of the hoops are decorated with a row of four wire circlets. A loop attached to the base of the earring once suspended an additional pendant.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
3956
label
Basket Earring
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
3
Source metadata
id
3956
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Basket Earring
description
One of the most common types of Langobardic jewelry, the basket earring derives its name from the hemispherical "basket" of gold wire as in this example. The front disk of gold is inlaid with gold wire cells for four red glass or garnet inserts arranged like the arms of a cross around a central, circular cell filled with a rounded green stone or glass. A triad arrangement of one large and two small circular gold wire circlets fills the space between the garnet inlays and creates a ring around the cross. A thick, flattened lip of gold decorated with hatching and cross-hatching overlays the outer edge of the disk where it joins the basket. On the front of the hoop are a row of five cells for red glass or garnet inlays, of which three are still filled. The sides of the hoops are decorated with a row of four wire circlets. A loop attached to the base of the earring once suspended an additional pendant.
provenance
Joseph Brummer, Paris; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 6th-7th century (Early Medieval)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Gold, Silver & Jewelry
earrings (jewelry)
imageCount
3
pageCount
3
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
5.1
height
1.9
depth
2.4
dimensionsRaw
H: 2 x W: 3/4 x D: 15/16 in. (5.1 x 1.9 x 2.4 cm)
Source extras
cul
Langobardic
med
gold, glass, garnets?
creator_ids
7359
collection_ids
MED
JWL
exhibition_ids
358
2513
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
759f4c0544ae7512
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
122b054232c74e38
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
56be6e555298a557
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no