Pair of wrist bracelets in the form of coiled snakes

Spiral bracelets in the form of snakes were very popular in the Hellenistic period. This type of bracelet, like a snake coiled around the wearer's arm, continues the form found in the Classical period. Such bracelets were always worn in pairs, around the wrists or the upper arms. The size of this pair, solid gold and quite heavy, indicates that they were meant for the wrist. The goldsmith took pains to recreate the sinuous motion of a coiled snake and the texture of its skin at the head and tail. The back loop-closure, which was held by a copper fastening pin, is rather unusual; most snake bracelets slipped on. This pair of snake bracelets is also unusual in that each bracelet is formed from two coiled snakes. The double snake bracelet appears to have been a Ptolemaic variation of the form.