Cleveland Museum of Art

Necklace

Date

100s BCE

Medium

gold, moonstone, garnet, emerald, cornelian, baroque pearl, and banded agate

Culture

Greece

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Alternating semiprecious stones and granulated gold beads come together to form this magnificent necklace, capped with a gold clasp framed by banded agate cabochons. The pendant portion of this necklace is centered around a large translucent moonstone in a gold setting, framed by smaller garnet ovals, also set in gold. Two tiny gold lynx heads clasp the garnet settings in their mouths. Small baroque (nonspherical) pearls dangle from these central settings. The combination of multiple precious and semiprecious stones with complex goldwork suggests that this necklace was originally made in one of the Greek kingdoms in the Black Sea region. The lynx heads on this necklace may reference the mythical King Lyncus of Scythia.

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