Gold Spiral

Description Spirals made of gold, silver, or bronze are common in Etruscan tombs of the 7th century BC. Their specific function is unknown; some scholars have suggested they are earring pendants, children's rings, or- most likely- hair ornaments. This gold spiral (like Walters 57.415) is formed from twisted wires and decorated with 20 hollow hemispheres that perhaps once held jewls. Human heads, their faces and hair rendered in repoussé, form the finials.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
11/30/1978	Treatment	cleaned

Exhibitions

• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.
• Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2006-2009.
• Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. 2010.

Provenance Joseph Brummer, Paris and New York, [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [as part of "Jugoslavian Treasure"]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1927