The Gold jewels of Magna Grecia

Since ancient times, gold has been associated with the divine due to its ductility, sheen, incorruptibility and rarity. It was the symbol of royalty and its ostentation could testify the social rank of the wearer. Over time the exihibition of luxury was set up as specialized social mores, related to particular collective ceremonies, such as marriage and funerals; during these events, women used to wear jewels, used on completion of their dress, like pins and brooches.

During the mid-8th century B.C., the founding of the Greek colonies in the western Mediterranean and in Southern Italy resulted in the intensification of the trading posts and in the spread of Phocean and Ionic cultural elements in the Thirrenian area, thanks also to the possibility of exploting the iron mines of Elba island. In the 6th century B.C. the artistic production of the Magno-Greek and Etruscan cities tended to approximate to the Ionic model, through the creation of gold jewels coming mostly from funeral contexts, like Ruvo di Puglia’s ones: such as "fermatrecce" and the spectacular necklace with pendant.

The "fermatrecce" (braidholders) were used to decorate the female hairdo: the hair was wrapped around the cylindrical part leaving the largest circle visibile, which is decorated by granulation, dust and filigree thecniques.

The granulation is an ancient gold manifacturing technique, which consists in welding small gold spherules on a gold foil, by creating or decorative motifs or to highlight some details. The technique is called dust if in the decoration there are smaller spherules, almost microscopic.

The representations are in relief, obtained with an embossed smooth foil. The elaborate decoration consists of three parallel bands, characterized by a braid motif, kraters and masks of Gorgon alternating with spheres.

These figures have been realized with elaborate molds and details have been meticulously made, for example, with the finishing of the hair and the wrinkle of the forehead of the Silenus thanks to the granulation technique. The acorns are instead characterized by the fine dust.

It is mostly characterized by a geometric design of full and empty spaces with triangular and pentagonal shapes in the upper register, and rhomboid shapes in the lower one. The jewel was created by Etruscan craftsmen and according to a recent interpretation, the jewel could be considered as a clothing ornament.

The necklace has been attributed to Etruscan craftsmen. It is made up of 44 globular embossed beads of gold foil. The small globes surface is defined by different decoration techniques such as the granulation and the fine dust which characterized the small palms and the ivy leaves.

In the upper and the lower part, the pomegranate is decorated by pod shaped motives, while it is smooth in the central part. The pendant is also decorated by a bud with a half-opened calyx in filigree.

Other couples of fibulae of the Magna Grecia collection have an enlarged arc in the central part. Their brackets end with an aries head representation which is decorated with fine dust and a slight engraving. The arc and the bracket are adorned by triangular and spiral decorations in filigree.

The couple of fibulae has a simple arc and a short folded bracket in smooth foil. It ends with the representation of a cable flower with twelve petals.

The earrings have a disc with an engraved Gorgon head. It is surrounded by a line of small globes and a line of small arches. Then there is a wave motif framed by three filigree crowns.

The pendant has a pyramidal shape and plant motifs and it is decorated by other small pendants like acorns, palms, aspen and oak leaves.

Here, the end of the earrings is decorated by two female heads which are embossed, and represent the same jewels in a miniaturist way.

This jewel has a bezel raised by two caryatids and it is frontally decorated by a Gorgoneion, framed by two snakes whose tails shape an herculean knot.

Also in Campania fibulae were very popular, especially the leech buckles. Some significant examples are the buckles coming from the tomb Stevens 185 of Cuma. These fibulae have a long bracket, decorated by palms and a pomegranate, topped by a flower with thirteen petals.

This one has a large bracket, ending with a flower with eleven petals and a glasse past pistil.

From the end of the 3th century B.C. the goldsmith production of Magna Grecia cities was marked by the diffusion of standard models. This beautiful pair of earrings, coming from Ruvo, fits into this production.

The central section has a rhomboid shape with sides which curved inward. It is in filigree like the central rosette and the miniature flowers of the corners.

In addition the earrings are decorated by a spherical pendant in carnelian and the so-called “monachina” hook.