One of a Pair of Armlets

Description This is one of a pair (with Walters 57.622) of heavy armlets of solid silver tapering towards the ends which are shaped like nail heads and decorated by incised lines. The inside diameter of the pieces suggests that they were worn on the upper arm. The bracelets, one broken in two, were so heavily covered with corrosion, that they were originally classified as bronze. A similar pair of armlets, made of gold, was excavated in 1922 in the ancient E-nun-mah Temple at Ur under a floor of the Persian period (6th century BC). This hoard contained objects from as far back as the late 3rd millennium BC. Therefore it cannot provide a certain date for the bracelets.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
1/01/1930	Treatment	other
5/05/1977	Examination	examined for condition

Exhibitions

• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.
• Objects of Adornment: Five Thousand Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. 1984-1987.
• Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery and the Zucker Family Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1987.

Provenance Edgar J. Banks [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1930, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1930