Ancient Roman Macedonian Gemstone Earring Pendant AD200 Start Price USD 89.99 Current Price USD 89.99 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, November 18, 2008 End Time Thursday, December 18, 2008 Location Lummi Island See more about 'Ancient Roman Macedonian Gemstone Earring Pendant AD200' Description Your browser does not support JavaScript. To view this page, enable JavaScript if it is disabled or upgrade your browser. Click here to see almost 800 archaeology/ancient history books and 500 authentic ancient artifacts on our eBay store! Handsome, Intact Ancient Roman/Macedonian Bronze Earring/Pendant. Contemporary Bronze-Tone Copper Chain. Nineteenth Century Norwegian “Bohemian Ruby” (Rhodolite Garnet) Semi-Precious Gemstone. CLASSIFICATION: Ancient Roman-Macedonian Bronze Earring Remnant/Pendant. Contemporary Chain. ATTRIBUTION: Eastern Roman Empire (Macedonia), Second or Third Century A.D. SIZE/MEASUREMENTS: Pendant: Length: 18 1/2mm. Breadth: 15 1/2mm. Thickness: 3mm. Weight: 1.94 grams. All measurements exclude gemstone. Gemstone: Diameter: 5mm. Thickness: 3mm. Weight: 0.67 grams. Chain: Contemporary 45 centimeters (18 inches), bronze-tone copper. Other chains available on request; gold tone, silver tone, silver and gold plated; sterling, solid 14kt gold, 14kt gold fill, etc., in lengths from 16 to 30 inches. The default chain (absent contrary instructions) is bronze tone, 18 inches. For a more authentic touch, we also have available handcrafted Greek black leather cords. CONDITION: Excellent. Pendant/Earring though incomplete is entirely intact and of sound integrity. Very light porosity (surface pitting caused by contact with earth while buried). Professionally conserved. DETAIL: This is a very handsome, beautiful piece of ancient jewelry of Roman Macedonian origin. It was originally part of an earring. You can see how the top single loop would have attached to the ear piece. From the bottom three loops would have dangle additional earring segments. This was a quite popular earring style in the ancient world of Roman Macedonia, and the style is reminiscent of some of the more elaborate earrings worn in the Eastern Provinces of the Roman Empire. Earrings are rarely covered complete, they’re generally in fragments. In fact, the fragments are rarely recovered complete. At least in this instance the component we have in hand is entirely undamaged and is in fact complete, albeit merely a component piece of a larger whole. The earring ring possesses a round concave bezel which forms a “cup” for a gemstone, and it’s likely that the earring indeed originally held a small gemstone. The most common gemstones used would have been either carnelian (or another related form of quartz such as amethyst, citrine, or rock quartz crystal); or glass (glass gemstones were quite popular and quite costly). However it is not possible to determine with any degree of certainty the type of gemstone the ring originally possessed as it was recovered without a gemstone. The Romans had a number of different adhesives they used, some of the most common being resin and bitumen. However one characteristic that they all had in common is that sooner or later, they tended to fail. Consequentially ancient “gemstone” rings are typically unearthed without the gemstone. True to form, this particular piece of jewelry was not recovered with the gemstone intact, so we mounted a natural, antique, handcrafted, Norwegian “rhodolite garnet”. The history of garnet goes well back into the classical ages, where ancients believed that a garnet could give its wearer guidance in the night, allowing them to see when others could not. Rhodolite garnet was known to Victorian Europe as “Bohemian ruby”, so called because of the rich, raspberry red color which rhodolite garnet possesses (contrasted to the rather burnt orange undertones of ordinary garnet). In Africa this remarkable red semi-precious gemstone was known as a “Cape Ruby” during the Victorian era. Though the rhodolite garnet originated in Norway, it was handcrafted and faceted by a nineteenth century Russian artisan near Yekaterinburg, Russia, home of one of Russia’s most famous gemstone and jewelry production centers, famous for producing the elaborate jewelry of Czarist Russia. Rather than use bitumen pitch or tree resin, we mounted the gemstone using jeweler’s epoxy. The gemstone is quite secure, but if you at time in the future wished to remove it, this could easily be accomplished using some thinner or nail polish remover. Though the gemstone is not as old as the earring, given the fact that many cultures of the classical Mediterranean world (including the Romans and Greeks) made use of garnet in their jewelry, and that the gemstone in itself is historically significant, it seemed an appropriate gemstone to enhance this ring’s beauty, a choice which preserves historical continuity. So as to enable this piece of ancient jewelry to be worn and enjoyed in the twenty-first century world, we have mounted the earring to a contemporary split ring and chain so that it might be worn as a pendant. Even if originally part of an earring, it certainly makes a beautiful pendant, and given the Roman’s fondness for jewelry, were the original artisan who produced the piece to see it being used as a pendant, we hope it would elicit an approving smile. As you can see the “pendant” is entirely intact, unrepaired, and in very good condition. We hope you agree that it makes a pendant of very handsome design and workmanship. It is a very solid piece, well constructed, and in a great state of preservation. The artifact evidences none of the gross porosity (fine surface pitting due to burial in soil) which so commonly disfigures small ancient bronze artifacts. You have to examine it in almost minute detail to discern the telltale evidence that it spend almost two thousand years buried in the earth. The pendant includes the 18 inch bronze-tone copper chain it is depicted with. Within a few weeks of being worn, the chain would darken in tone so as to match the pendant. Upon request we also have available gold and silver-tone chains, gold and silver electroplate chains, as well as solid sterling silver, 14kt gold fill, and solid 14kt gold chains in lengths from 16 to 30 inches. We also have available authentic handcrafted black leather cords from Greece. The Greeks and Romans (and their Byzantine successors) were very fond of ornate personal adornments, including belt buckles, bracelets worn both on the forearm and upper arm, rings, pendants, earrings, hair pins, and brooches. With the addition of a contemporary chain, this ancient earring/pendant can be worn and enjoyed, an interesting historical relic which pertains not only to the history of Rome and Greco-Roman Macedonia, but also to the history of jewelry production. Almost two thousand years after it was originally produced, it could still bring its next owner many decades of wearing enjoyment, an evocative authentic “souvenir” of the glory and grandeur which was the Roman Empire, the greatest military power, and one of the most advanced civilizations of the ancient world. HISTORY: Bronze is the name given to a wide range of alloys of copper, typically mixed in ancient times with zinc or tin. The Bronze Age followed the Neolithic, and as the name implies, saw the production of bronze tools, weapons and armor which were either hard or more durable than their stone predecessors. Traditionally archaeology has maintained that the earlier bronze was produced by the Maikop, a proto-Indo-European, proto-Celtic culture of Caucasus prehistory around 3500 B.C. Recent evidence however suggests that the smelting of bronze might be as much as several thousand years older. Shortly after the emergence of bronze technology in the Caucasus region, bronze technology emerged in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean), Anatolia (Turkey) and the Iranian Plateau. By the late fourth to early third millennium B.C. many Bronze Age Cultures had emerged. Some of the more notable were the Celtic cultures of Middle Europe stretching from Hungary to Poland and Germany, including the Urnfield, Lusatian, and (Iron Age Transitional) Hallstatt Cultures. The Shang in ancient China also developed a significant Bronze Age culture, noted for large bronze burial urns. Britain’s Bronze Age cultures included the Beaker, Wessex, Deverl, and Rimbury. Cornwall was the principle source of tin not only for Britain but exported throughout the Mediterranean, and copper was produced from the Great Orme mine in North Wales. Though much of the raw minerals may have come from Britain (and to a lesser extent Spain), it was the Aegean world which controlled the trade in bronze. The great seafaring Minoan Empire appears to have controlled, coordinated, and defended the Bronze Age trade. Tin and charcoal were imported into Cyprus, where locally mined copper was mined and alloyed with the tin from Britain. It appears that the Bronze Age collapsed with the Minoan Empire, to be replaced by a Dark Age and the eventual rise of the Iron Age Myceneans. Evidence suggests that the precipitating event might have been the eruption of Thera and the ensuing tsunami, which was only about 40 miles north of Crete, the capital of the Minoan Empire. It is known that the bread-basket of the Minoan empire, the area north of the Black Sea lost population, and thereafter many Minoan colony/client-states lost large populations to extreme famines or pestilence. Thus with the end to the shipping of tin throughout the Mediterranean the Bronze Age trade network is believed to have failed, and the end of the Bronze Age and the rise of the Iron age is normally associated with the disturbances created by large population movements in the 12th century B.C. The end of the Bronze Age saw the emergency of new technologies and civilizations which heralded the new Iron Age. Although iron was in many respects much inferior to bronze (steel was still thousands of years away), iron had the advantage that it could be produced using local resources during the dark ages that followed the Minoan collapse. Bronze also resists corrosion and metal fatigue better than iron. Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, but for many purposes the weaker iron was sufficiently strong to serve in its place. As an example, Roman officers were equipped with bronze swords while foot soldiers had to make do with iron blades. Macedon (or Macedonia) is known to have been inhabited since the Neolithic, early inhabitants including Thracians, Pannonians, and Ilyrians. It is believed by anthropologists that the original population was of Indo-European Dorian stock. The Dorians were responsible for the invasion of Myceanean Greece to the south about 1150 A.D., precipitating the “Greek Dark Ages”. Mycenea was sacked, and the archaeological record shows that many other principle cities in Greece and Crete were reduced to villages. It is known that the Greeks considered the Doric Macedonians “barbarians”, and that the Macedonians spoke a distinct language or dialect, and were considered by the Greeks as “non-Greek” speakers. Up until the time of Alexander the Great Macedonians were not allowed to participate in Olympic Games. However with the Hellenization of the Greek Peninsula, eventually Macedon was considered Hellenic. The area of ancient Macedon was in the north part of the Greek Peninsula, and was bordered by ancient Thrace. Ancient Macedon is now split between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia (formerly part of Yugosalvia). Due to the barbarian incursions and depopulation of the region after the fall of the Roman Empire, the surviving Greek population of Macedon fled southwards into what is now the Macedonian region of Greece; while eventually the northernmost regions (present day Republic of Macedonia) became repopulated with Slavic peoples, and even later by Armenians. The ancient populations coalesced into the Kingdom of Macedon about 800 B.C. Ancient Macedon fell to the Persian Armies of Darius the Great in the late sixth century B.C. It became more Hellenic in character after King Alexander I of Macedon began promoting the Attic (Greek) dialect and culture in the first half of the fifth century B.C. The Hellenic character of Macedon grew over the next century. Under the rule of Philip II, Macedon extended its power over the rest of northern Greece, including Thrace, Pannonia, and Illyria. Philip's son Alexander the Great conquered not only the remainder of Greece, but also the Persian Empire, Egypt, and Northern India. After his death Alexander’s generals divided the empire between them, founding their own states and dynasties. Macedon was part of the empire created by Antigonus, remaining independent until foolishly engaging the Romans in three successive wars in the late third and early second centuries B.C. The Romans initially divided Macedonia into four republics, client kingdoms of Rome, before finally annexing Macedon as the first Roman Province in 146 B.C. With the division of the Roman Empire, Macedon eventually became part of the surviving Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire. However the population of the entire region was severely depleted by destructive successive invasions of Goths, Avars, Visigoths, Huns, and Vandals. In the fifth and sixth centuries a number of Slavic tribes repopulated the desolated northern regions (what is today the Republic of Macedonia). Most of inland (Slavic) Macedonia was incorporated into Bulgaria in the ninth century, while the ethnic Greek Aegean coastal regions remained part of the Byzantine Empire. However the period following (one century plus) was punctuated by almost incessant warfare between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire, until finally in 1018 A.D. Bulgaria fell and the whole of Macedonia was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire as the province of Bulgaria. Macedonia was ultimately to fall to the Islamic Ottoman Empire in the first half of the fifteenth century. For the next five centuries Macedonia remained part of the Ottoman Empire. The initial period of Ottoman rule saw the complete desolation of the plains and river valleys of Macedonia. The Christian population there was slaughtered, escaped to the mountains or was forcefully converted to Islam. Towns destroyed during the conquest were repopulated with Turkish Muslim settlers. At the conclusion of World War I and the dismembering of the Ottoman Empire, Macedonia was incorporated with the rest of Serbia into the Kingdon of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). After the fall of the Soviet Empire late in the twentieth century, Slavic Macedonia became the Republic of Macedonia. Greek Macedonia remains of course, part of Greece. Domestic shipping is $3.99 for first class mail or $6.99 for Priority Mail. Domestic rates include USPS Delivery Confirmation (you might be able to update the status of your shipment on-line at the USPS Web Site). Canadian shipments are $3.99 for Air Mail; International shipments are $4.99 for Air Mail (and generally are NOT tracked; trackable shipments are EXTRA). I can add most other items I sell to the shipment for only $0.99 each. Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers. Insurance is available for both domestic and international shipments ($4 for domestic shipments; $6 for international shipments; ONLY required when PayPal is used – you may deduct this amount if you prefer an uninsured shipment AND you pay by check or money order or EU transfer). We do NOT recommend uninsured shipments, and expressly disclaim any responsibility for the loss of an uninsured shipment. Unfortunately the contents of parcels are easily “lost” or misdelivered by postal employees – even in the USA. If you intend to pay via PayPal, please be aware that PayPal Protection Policies REQUIRE insured, trackable shipments. If you do NOT want an insured shipment, send us a check or money order or EU transfer and deduct the invoiced insurance premium. We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. I prefer your personal check or money order over any other form of payment – and I will ship immediately upon receipt of your check (no “holds”). If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price. Most of the items I offer come from the collection of a family friend who was active in the field of Archaeology for over forty years. However many of the items also come from purchases I make in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) from various institutions and dealers. Though I have always had an interest in archaeology, my own academic background was in sociology and cultural anthropology. After my retirement however, I found myself drawn to archaeology as well. Aside from my own personal collection, I have made extensive and frequent additions of my own via purchases on Ebay (of course), as well as many purchases from both dealers and institutions throughout the world – but especially in the Near East and in Eastern Europe. I spend over half of my year out of the United States, and have spent much of my life either in India or Eastern Europe. In fact much of what we generate on Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe connected with Anthropology and Archaeology. I acquire some small but interesting collections overseas from time-to-time, and have as well some duplicate items within my own collection which I occasionally decide to part with. Though I have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, my primary interest is in ancient jewelry. My wife also is an active participant in the “business” of antique and ancient jewelry, and is from Russia. I would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from me. There is a $2 fee for mailing under separate cover. Whenever I am overseas I have made arrangements for purchases to be shipped out via domestic mail. If I am in the field, you may have to wait for a week or two for a COA to arrive via international air mail. But you can be sure your purchase will arrive properly packaged and promptly – even if I am absent. And when I am in a remote field location with merely a notebook computer, at times I am not able to access my email for a day or two, so be patient, I will always respond to every email. Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE." Place a Bid!