Gold in antiquity: Did you mean...?

The interior hollow surface of the earring. Note how the carved cuneiform signs appear on this side and how the goldsmith joined the “lunar-shaped” segments of the earring. The cuneiform text is read vertically...

Roman gold and saphire ring, second half of the 2nd century CE. The ring has a garnet centre stone. From an unidentified marble sarcophagus in Rome. (Palazzo Massimo, Rome)

5-6th century CE gold earrings from the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE - 668 CE) of south-eastern Korea. From a tomb in the Gyeongju area. National Treasure No. 52. (National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea)

Gold hair ornament from Agrigento, Sicily, 3rd century BCE. The central medallion depicts Medusa. Archaeological Museum of Agrigento.

Gold crown ornaments from the Baekje kingdom of ancient Korea. From the tomb of King Muryeong (r. 501-523 BCE), near Gongju. National Treasure No. 155. (National Museum of Korea, Seoul)

This is the upper surface of the earring . The right lower circle is broken and at the center of the trifoliate group lies a single golden sphere. The cuneiform text is read vertically, from the upper surface downwards...

The convex and carved surfaces of the earrings. Each earring is composed of nine lunar-shaped segments forming a flattened half- ball. The cuneiform signs run vertically from above downward, starting from the right...

Gold shield with the head of god Sebiumeker. From the treasure of the Nubian queen Amanishakheto, pyramid N6, Meroe, modern-day northern Sudan. Meroitic period, around 1 CE. (State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich, Germany...

Both earrings are placed in a mirror-image position, with the lower surfaces facing each other. Each earring is composed of nine lunar-shaped segments forming a flattened half- ball. The cuneiform signs run vertically...

4th century BCE gold Olive wreath from Macedonia, both a religious symbol and indicator of social position and power (Archaeological Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece)