Gold body chain of the Roman era
Nice.
The most important gold item in the [Hoxne] hoard is the body chain, which consists of four finely looped gold chains, made using the "loop-in-loop" method called "fox tail" in modern jewellery, and attached at front and back to plaques. At the front, the chains have terminals in the shape of lions' heads and the plaque has jewels mounted in gold cells, with a large amethyst surrounded by four smaller garnets alternating with four empty cells, which probably held pearls that have decayed. At the back, the chains meet at a mount centred on a gold solidus of Gratian (r. 375–383), which has been converted from an earlier use, probably as a pendant, and which may have been a family heirloom. Body chains of this type appear in Roman art, sometimes on the goddess Venus or nymphs; some examples have erotic contexts, but they are also worn by respectable high-ranking ladies. They may have been regarded as a suitable gift for a bride. The Hoxne body chain, worn tightly, would fit a woman with a bust-size of 76–81 cm (30–32 inches).
Wow, that's really beautiful. It's astonishing to modern eyes that something could be made with that kind of delicacy and symmetry with only very simple tools. Primitive they were not!
ReplyDeleteDon't let my wife see this! She'd want to buy it!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I wonder why necklaces, earrings and bracelets continue to be worn but this form of jewelry fell out of favor?
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me was the chest measurement of the wearer. By today's norm (at least in the western nations), she would be considered extremely petite. She would also have a very difficult time finding bras that fit! (But I suppose that anyone wearing a prelate's ransom on their torso could probably afford to have their bras tailored...)
ReplyDeletere: FLETCHER
ReplyDeletedon't forget people in general were considerably smaller back then - poorer nutrition, healthcare and such, i suppose. i remember reading once how the introduction of vitaminized biscuits (as an easier-to-transport alternative ot meat) into Britain during WW2 was responsible for an overall height increase in the population pre- to post-war.
@Anonymous: You're right, and I see that even today here in Portugal. The difference in body size between pensioners, who lived their formative years under Salazar's regime, and those who grew up after the Revolution, is obvious and rather heartbreaking.
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