Preview
Creation Date
9th-11th centuries
Geography
Britain, Colchester?
Culture
Byzantine
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
1 × 9/16 in (2.54 × 1.43 cm)
Credit Line
Long-term Loan from the Estate of Boris Blick, 2015
Accession Number
2015.168.11
Provenance
2015: Donated by Prof. Sarah Blick.
ca. 1995 – ca. 2005: Purchased by Boris Blick in a collection of “Early Roman & Celtic Artifacts” from an antique shop in Akron, Ohio.
1972: Purchased by the antique shop from a metal detector “hunter” in London at the Arch’s Market. Said to be found in the Colchester area.
Description
This style of Byzantine earring is composed of a main U-shape with two soldered elements, extending above and below the curve by bisecting the bottom of the arch. Its material, bronze, would have been more accessible to those of lower class, acting as an imitation of more valuable gold jewelry worn by high-status nobility or royalty (Albani 2010: 193), such as that found in the Preslav treasure (Bosselmann-Ruickbie 2011: no. 40). It is theorized that these styles were inspired by imperial jewelry made in one or several leading workshops in the empire’s capital, Constantinople (Stolz 2010: 33). These styles, symbols, and motifs may have spread by traveling craftsmen through the use of models or pattern books (Stoltz 2010: 37). Comparanda found in Greece, Poland, and Bulgaria support the claim that these styles would have spread over a wide geographical area (Bosselmann-Ruickbie 2011: pp. 231–233, nos. 36–40). These comparanda have all been dated to the Middle Byzantine Period (843–1204).
This specific earring was claimed to have been found near Colchester, England. Due to the fact that the Byzantine Empire’s influence reached into Britain, it is possible that the style may have spread to this area (see 2015.164.37). We know that this specific type of earring, among other styles, had a wide range of influence across the Byzantine Empire and its client or border regions. However, it is also entirely possible that its provenance is false due to the earring’s limited documentation.
Comparable Pieces:
Earring. Slav (western), 10th–11th c. British Museum, 1991,1003.5. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1991-1003-5.
Earring. 9th–10th c. Corinth, Archaeological Museum, MF 6699 (Bosselmann-Ruikbie 2011: no. 36).
Silver pair of earrings. 10th c. Greece, Chalkidiki, Lerissos Cemetery. Ouranoupolis, Archaeological Museum Inv. No. 33a. (Bosselmann-Ruikbie 2011: no. 37).
Silver earring. 10th c. Greece, Chalkidiki, Lerissos Cemetery. Ouranoupolis Archaeological Museum Inv. No. 33b. (Bosselmann-Ruikbie 2011: no. 38).
Silver pair of earrings. 9th–12th c. Greece, Larissa, 7th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, Inv. No. M 297-298. (Bosselmann-Ruikbie 2011: no. 39).
Golden pair of earrings. 893–971 CE. Bulgaria, Preslav, National-Historical Archaeological Museum Inv. No. 3381/5 (Bosselmann-Ruikbie 2011: no. 40).
See also the comparable piece in this collection, 2015.171.11.
Sources Consulted:
Stolz, Yvonne. “The Evidence for Jewellery Production in Constantinople in the Early Byzantine Period.” In Intelligible Beauty: Recent Research on Byzantine Jewellery, eds. Chris Entwistle and Noël Adams, 33–39. London: British Museum, 2010.
Bosselmann-Ruickbie, Antje. Byzantinischer Schmuck des 9. bis frühen 13. Jahrhunderts: Untersuchungen zum metallenen dekorativen Körperschmuck der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit anhand datierter Funde. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2011.
By: Lana Stone '26
