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A Late Roman Gold Armlet
late Roman
Roman Imperial
Late 3rd to Early 4th century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Gold
Dimensions
Weight: 260 gm (0.26 kg)
Width: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.)
Width: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Benjamin and Lucy Rowland Fund, John J. Herrmann, Jr. Acquisition Fund for Classical Gold and Silver Objects, Dora Pintner Fund, and by exchange from Gift of Paul E. Manheim, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William de Forest Thomson, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius C. Vermeule III in the Name of Cornelius Adrian Comstock Vermeule, Gift of Richard R. Wagner, Gift of Mrs. Godfrey Peckitt, Gift of Frederick L. Jack, M. Elizabeth Carter Collection, Gift of Mrs. Samuel D. Warren, Museum purchase with funds donated by contribution, and Everett Fund, Gift of Miss M. Elizabeth Carter, M. Elizabeth Carter Collection—Gift of Nellie Parney Carter, Gift of Mrs. Edward Jackson Holmes, Gift of Benjamin W. Crowninshield, James Fund, Gift of Miss. Rebecca Salisbury, Gift of Mrs. Francis B. Lothrop, Mrs. George Batchelder, Jr., and Mrs. Gordon Abbott, Gift of Mrs. Willard Emery, Gift of Martin Brimmer, Gift of the Misses Amy and Clara Curtis, and Gift of Mrs. Jasper Whiting
Accession Number2017.74
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Bracelets and armlets
DescriptionOne of a pair of gold armlets worn by a wealthy woman of the late Imperial period. This gold armlet is made in two sections formerly hinged together, of hollow circular form repoussé in relief and chased on the crest and sides with two rows of large quatrefoils interspersed with small rosettes and theater masks. Petals with finely-notched edges line the undecorated inner circumference.
Width = 13 cm; Weight = 260 g.
Width = 13 cm; Weight = 260 g.
ProvenanceMay 14, 1960, anonymous sale, Ars Antiqua, Lucerne, lot 173. By 1966, Jan Mitchell (b. 1913 – d. 2009), New York [see note]; June 7, 2012, Jan Mitchell estate sale, Sotheby’s, New York, lot 26 to a German private collector; October 25, 2016, anonymous (German private collector) sale, Christie’s, New York, lot 124, bought in; 2017, sold by this German private collector, through Christie’s, New York, to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 1, 2017)