GREEK EGYPTIAN GOLD BRACELET

Circa 1st Century B. C.
The new wealth circulating in Greece, along the foreign influences resulting from Alexander's conquest initiated an exuberant revival of jewelry and personal adornment. One of the most distinctive, and popular, forms was that derived from the sinuous curves of the snake. The serpentine motif could be seen as bracelets, armlets, and rings -- often worked in plain gold or silver, but equally as often enriched with colored stones. This type of adornment would remain popular till at least the 3rd century A.D., under the Romans.

Arm bracelet in spiral representing a snake folded up on itself whose details of the scales are translated by very fine incisions. A dorsal vein in relief short all along the animal. A geometrical decoration allows the transition between the part furnished with scales and that deprived of any ornament. Gold. Red oxidation of gold and layer of sediment in the hollows. Very beautiful conservation. Diam: 7 cm This type of arm bracelet are often represented in gold sheet on the statues of marble Aphrodite.