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Source Description
Necklaces incorporating relief medallions were fashionable in the later Roman Empire. Pendants with heads of the Gorgon Medusa, who turned those who gazed at her into stone, had an apotropaic function, averting evil from their wearers. The use of coins in men's and women's jewelry was widespread by the late empire. While primarily worn to display the owner's wealth, the coins themselves were still valuable as bullion and could be used in the event the owner fell upon hard times.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
396
label
Necklace with Medusa Medallion
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/57.520 ()
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
396
sourceUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/57.520 ()
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Necklace with Medusa Medallion
description
Necklaces incorporating relief medallions were fashionable in the later Roman Empire. Pendants with heads of the Gorgon Medusa, who turned those who gazed at her into stone, had an apotropaic function, averting evil from their wearers. The use of coins in men's and women's jewelry was widespread by the late empire. While primarily worn to display the owner's wealth, the coins themselves were still valuable as bullion and could be used in the event the owner fell upon hard times.
provenance
Khawam Brothers, Cairo [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1929, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
AD 2nd century
citationUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/57.520 ()
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
necklaces
medallions (medals)
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensionsRaw
L: 16 5/16 in. (41.43 cm)
Source extras
med
gold
creator_ids
6191
collection_ids
ROM
JWL
exhibition_ids
1954
2227
2513
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
ac67562269e90ad9
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
f59a014f9b8519a8
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no