Hoop Earrings with Antelope Head Finials

Hoops with finials in the form of animal heads were one of the most popular earring types in the Hellenistic period. This pair and its companion set, however, are remarkable for the quality of their craftsmanship. The first animal-headed hoop earrings appear in Greece about 330 B.C., after Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire, and they probably derive directly from Persian jewelry. Some scholars believe that antelope-headed earrings were particularly favored in Hellenistic Egypt.

An artisan, probably male, wrapped gold wire around a gold core to make the tapered hoop and attached catch loops under the heads to secure the ends of the hoops. As was typical for Greek jewelry, he simply twisted a narrow strip of soft sheet gold to make the wire. He assembled the tiny, very detailed antelope heads by fusing together two repoussé halves of sheet gold. He made the ears and horns separately of sheet gold and beaded wire and probably inlaid the eyes with precious stones, now missing.