Earring

The elaborate design of this earring has recently been compared to a design carved in the tombs of the Persian king Darius the Great and his successors, and may symbolize the Zoroastrian concept of the order of the earth and the universe. On both sides of the central rondel is the torso of a bearded figure in gold with etched details, emerging from a crescent which has two pairs of wings and a tail. Around this center are six smaller figures and a lotus blossum, each also emerging from a crescent. Orginally the earring contained 229 inlaid pieces. Its mate is in the Norbert Schimmel Collection.