A Byzantine Gold, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Amethyst, and Emerald Necklace

Circa 6th-7th Century A.D.

Length excluding chain 10 1/4 inches (26.04 cm).

Property from a New York Private Collection

Provenance:

Private Collection, Munich, 1994.

Art Market, Switzerland, 2012.

The opulence of the Byzantine Empire radiates through this exquisite necklace, a testament to the lavishness and sophistication of jewelry craftsmanship during the period. This long necklace is composed of fourteen thick gold sections each encrusted with box-cut and bead-drop emeralds flanked by sapphire, chalcedony, and amethyst cabochons. Depictions of individuals wearing lavish jewels such as this can be found represented on public monuments and on private portraits. For examples of similar jewelry from the Byzantine period, see Empress Theodora and her attendants from the portrait mosaics in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

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Please contact the Auction Specialist for details.

Jacob Coley

Senior Vice President, Head of Department, Antiquities and Ancient Art

[email protected]312 280 1212

Mr. Coley joined the Antiquities department in 2021 after working as Managing Director in the Ancient Art department at Colnaghi, the world’s oldest commercial art gallery, where he helped to establish the Ancient Art department and launched Colnaghi New York in 2017. Prior to Colnaghi, Mr. Coley was in the Greek and Roman Art department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Coley holds a B.A. from the University of Miami and an M.A. in Art Market from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and he earned an art-appraisal certificate from New York University.

Antiquities & Ancient Art: Including Property from the Brummer Collection

A Byzantine Gold, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Amethyst, and Emerald Necklace

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