  About the Artwork
  
  
  Ancient gold jewelry was generally formed from thin sheets of gold, rather than solid gold. By this method, the maximum effect could be achieved using the minimum amount of a precious and expensive material. These earrings are formed of a hollow oval that conceals the ear loop behind it. They have as pendants stylized clusters of hollow grapes ornamented with very small gold granules. The geometric grape design in many variations was popular throughout the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries.
  
  
  Title
  Earring
  
  
  Artwork Date
  3rd century CE
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Roman
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Gold
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 2 3/8 × 15/16 × 7/8 inches (6 × 2.4 × 2.2 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Jewelry
  
  
  Department
  Greco-Roman and Ancient European
  
  
  Credit
  City of Detroit Purchase
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  27.275.B
  
  
  Copyright
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