Cleveland Museum of Art

Octagonal Pendant with Corinthian Column Spacers and Clasp Set

Date

324–26 CE

Medium

gold

Culture

Byzantium, Late Roman, Eastern Mediterranean, (probably Sirium or Nicomedia), Byzantine period

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Mounted at the center of this octagonal pendant is a rare coin issued by Constantine the Great, the Roman Empire’s first Christian emperor. Constantine’s portrait appears on the coin’s front, those of two of his sons on the back. Constantine’s image is surrounded by male and female busts, some of which are mythological figures. The pendant once formed the centerpiece of a sumptuous gold necklace, likely a gift for a high-ranking court official or member of the imperial family. This larger necklace is thought to have included four additional coin-set pendants—two hexagonal and two circular, now in Washington, DC (Dumbarton Oaks), London (British Museum), and Paris (Musée du Louvre). Using the opus interrasile openwork technique, a goldsmith delicately punched and filed hundreds of tiny holes to create the intricate filigree pattern on this pendant.

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