Basket Earring

Description One of the most common types of Langobardic jewelry, the basket earring receives its name because it is backed by a hemispherical, "basket" of gold wire as in this example. The front is open in the middle and was originally set with a pearl. Its small size suggests it may have been a child's.

Exhibitions

• Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1947.
• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.

Provenance Henry Walters, New York, by purchase; Mrs. Henry Walters, New York, 1931, by inheritance; Sale, Joseph Brummer, New York; Walters Art Museum, 1941, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase, 1941