Gold capsule in the form of a grasshopper

Gold capsule in the form of a grasshopper

Description:

A recurrent object of the Archaic and Classical periods--part amulet, part jewelry--is the small capsule worn as a pendant. It is a Phoenician type particularly well represented in Carthaginian jewelry. The purpose of the capsule was to hold a text that would protect or assist the wearer. It is unclear whether the examples found in Cyprus were made there or imported from the Levant.


Other: 1 in. (2.5 cm)

Period:

Classical

Date:

599 - 300 BC

Collection:

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance:

From Cyprus

References:

Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1903. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 3. pl. IV, 26, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 3282, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Accession Number:

74.51.3282