Greek Gold Jewelry
The Toledo Art Museum in Toledo, Ohio has an elaborate collection of art from the Hellenistic Age. For Example, the Greek Gold Jewelry that stopped me in my tracks. The piece is currently a permanent exhibit that is located in the Ancient Civilization in the Great Gallery on the second floor of the Museum.
As I entered the museum on that hot, sunny Sunday afternoon, several patrons were among various art pieces and exhibits. The museum is dark and dreary. Very little lighting is in the museum except what shines through the windows. Many of the works of art were encased in glass or roped off. Several overhead lights illuminated from above on the exhibits. As I made my way through the museum, observing several piece of art an exhibit off in the distance caught my attention. Enclosed in a glass case is a gorgeous and complex gold masterpiece that sparkled magnificently as the lights gleamed down from above.
The exhibit The Hellenistic Diadem (250-200 B.C.). The Diadem is an intricate piece of art that consists of several different components that have been used to construct this beautiful piece of jewelry. The strap itself looks as if thin strips of gold wire were braided, twisted and intertwined in a zigzag formation to make long thin strips of chain. Each of the chains looks to be connected in some way by sewing or weaving them together to make the width of the strap wide. The knot on the Diadem is brilliantly crafted with complex details and jewels. There are small gold granules that are all over the knot itself; they are surrounded by various designs that are in the form of diamond shapes, scrolls, leaves and flowers. There are several different colors of gems on the piece of art. The petals of the flowers consist of a light blue glass, and the central part of the knot has a somewhat large garnet in the center.
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