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Earring with Nike driving a two-horse chariot

Greek, Northern Greek
Late Classical or Early Hellenistic Period
about 350–325 B.C.

Medium/Technique Gold and enamel
Dimensions Height: 5cm (1 15/16in.)
Weight: 15.8 gm (0.03 lb.)
Credit Line Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.788
NOT ON VIEW
A masterpiece of the goldsmith's art, this extraordinary earring features Nike, the goddess of victory, driving a two-horse chariot. The figures are modeled in the round and form a pendant suspended from a disc in the shape of a honeysuckle palmette. Wearing a belted chiton (tunic), a full-length skirt, and several items of jewelry, Nike leans forward, her left hand pulling on the reins of the horses, whose front legs rear sharply. The features on the goddess's face are crisp and her expression resolute, while the animals appear startled and tense. Raised as if in flight, Nike's elaborate, feathery, and finely chased wings provide an elegant counterbalance to the dynamic composition. The overall impression is one of energy, determination, and movement. Given its size and workmanship-so accomplished that the artist perhaps copied a large-scale model or was an experienced sculptor-the earring was probably made for a member of royalty or a cult statue.

Like many adornments from antiquity, the ornament is composed of individual elements soldered together-in this case, more than a hundred. The bodies of the figures are crafted from gold sheet that is superbly modeled and embellished with wirework details and small gold balls. The honeysuckle palmette that surmounts the pendant is fashioned into curved petals and circular stamens outlined with fine twisted wires; remnants of enamel survive on several of the stamens. In the center of the leaf is a tear-shaped fruit encrusted with dense gold granulation. A hoop on the underside was probably attached to an ear wire, which is now missing.

Catalogue Raisonné Highlights: Classical Art (MFA), p. 042.
DescriptionEarring in form of Nike driving a two-horse chariot (biga). The figures are modeled in the round and form a pendant suspended from a disc in the shape of a honeysuckle palmette. Wearing a belted chiton (tunic), a full-length skirt, and several items of jewelry, Nike leans forward, her left hand pulling on the reins of the horses, whose front legs rear sharply. The features on the goddess's face are crisp and her expression resolute, while the animals appear startled and tense. Raised as if in flight, Nike's elaborate, feathery, and finely chased wings provide an elegant counterbalance to the dynamic composition.

The ornament is composed of more than a hundred individual elements soldered together. The bodies of the figures are crafted from gold sheet that is embellished with wirework details and small gold balls. The honeysuckle palmette is fashioned into curved petals and circular stamens outlined with fine twisted wires; remnants of enamel survive on several of the stamens. In the center of the leaf is a tear-shaped fruit encrusted with dense gold granulation. A hoop on the underside was probably attached to an ear wire, which is now missing.
ProvenanceBy 1892: Count Michel Tyszkiewicz Collection (according to W. Fröhner, La Collection Tyszkiewicz, 1897, pl. 1, no. 2: found in the Peloponnesos); by 1898: with Edward Perry Warren; 1898: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 69,618.13 (this figure is the total price for MFA 98.641-98.940)