A HELLENISTIC GOLD EARRING WITH A WINGED ANGEL
Possibly Macedonia, Greece or Asia Minor, 4th - 3rd century BCE

The miniature gold earring curved, almost C-shaped, the top terminal presenting an angelical bare winged figure, the other end with an inward-curving, tapering hook with distinctive coiled wire, the back of the angel with an elongated oval clasp.

120mm x 50mm

1.40gr.

Provenance: Private UK-based Georgian family heirloom for three generations.

The present lot is reminiscent of the typical 4th - 3rd century BCE Hellenistic Macedonian animal gold earrings. Usually attributed to post-Alexandrine Greece, archaeological excavations also unearthed similar specimens in Cyprus and Asia Minor, and more recently Jerusalem (Israel, August 2018), testifying to these earrings' popularity and presence along the trading routes in the Ancient world. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York vaunts a remarkable selection of such earrings, mostly characterised by animal heads (acc. nos. 74.51.3459, 74.51.3498, and 74.51.3468), making the present figural example stand out as rare and unusual.

As a comparable, a pair of Hellenistic bull-headed gold earrings similar to the present example successfully sold at Roseberys London, 28 April 2023, lot 21.