Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Basket Earring
One of the most common types of Langobardic jewelry, the basket earring derives its name from the hemispherical "basket" of gold wire or basket-like dome of sheet gold on its hoop. The front disk of gold is inlaid with gold wire cells to hold glass pastes arranged in the shape of a cross. Between the arms of the cross are four gold bosses decorated with gold granules. There also are beads of gold granulation creating a border around the circumference of the front disk. At the bottom of the disk is a gold wire loop for the suspension of a pendant. On the back, the sheet-gold basket has a cruciform pattern of incised circles. The repetition of the cross motif on this earring suggests Christian Langobard patronage. The loop is circular and has gold pseudo-filigree. Unusual features of the earring include the hinge on the loop for the suspension of the disk and basket and the hinged pendant loop.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Joseph Brummer, Paris; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1984-1987 | 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. |
| 1987 | Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery and the Zucker Family Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1979-1980 | Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/19/1984 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
Italy (Place of Origin)
Measurements
2 x 7/8 x 11/16 in. (5.1 x 2.2 x 1.7 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Migration and Early Medieval Art
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.475