Set of jewelry

This group of jewelry is said to be from Madytos on the European side of the Hellespont. The gold diadem is richly worked in repoussé with an elaborate floral pattern. Dionysos, the god of wine, and his wife Ariadne sit in the center; muses playing musical instruments perch among vines along the sides. The tiny figure of a muse playing a lyre also appears just above the crescent form on each of the boat-shaped earrings. The seedlike pendants of the earrings are identical to those on the elaborate necklace.

S11—S23. The Madytos Jewelry

Gold diadem (S11), gold ring (S12), gold beads from a necklace (S13), seven gold rosettes (S14—S20), pair of gold earrings (S21—S22), gold necklace (S23).

Said to be from a tomb at Madytos, on the Hellespont.

Greek, late fourth century B. C.

S11: length 36. 8 cm. (14¹∕₂ in.);
S12: diameter 2.2 cm. (⁷∕₈ in.);
S13: length, of each type of bead, 2.2 cm. (⁷∕₈ in.) and 1.2 cm. (¹∕₂ in.);
S14-S20: diameter 1.9 cm. (³∕₄ in.);
S21—S22: height 7.4cm. (2¹⁵∕₁₆ in.);
S23: length 32.3 cm. (12³∕₄ in.).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rogers Fund, 1906. 06.12.17.1—13.

Madytos (modern Maïto) was an important port on the European side of the Hellespont, opposite Abydos. This gold jewelry is said to have been found in a tomb. The gold diadem (S11) is richly decorated with many figures and ornaments worked in repoussé. In the center, where the diadem rises to an apex, Dionysos and Ariadne are shown like pedimental figures, back to back, but their heads turned toward each other. Each holds a thyrsos and sits on an elaborate acanthus from whose center a large flower rises. The floral motives also dominate the tapering ends of the diadem, each of which shows, on a smaller scale, five Muses seated on the stalks of vines that terminate at intervals in elaborate scrolls. The Muses face Dionysos and Ariadne. While composed symmetrically, each figure is worked individually with no mere duplication. Starting from the center, the first Muse plays a harp, the second holds auloi (flutes), the third is a lyre-player, the fourth sings while holding a scroll in her hands, and the last has a long, stringed instrument that has been identified as a psalterium. The design is further enriched with flowers, birds, and a grasshopper. Equally elaborate is the pair of earrings (S21—S22) of the familiar Ionian boat type. They are especially close to the pair from Derveni (cat. no. 138) in construction and syntax but, as is to be expected, differ in the sculptural detail. The top member is a disk with a rich rosette complete with a central stud (missing on the pair from Derveni); the disk is linked to a finely granulated crescent or boat (hence the name of the type) by delicate scrolls. In an arbor of scroll ornaments, between the disk and the crescent, a Muse is shown playing the lyre, flanked by two figures of Eros that stand on rosettes near the tips of the crescent. From the lower edge of the crescent hang three rows of pendants. While the Muses playing the lyre connect the earrings with the similar musicians on the diadem (S11), the pendants are identical with those of the necklace (S23), again arranged in three rows. The necklace, however, introduces a novel element in the tiny foreparts of winged griffins which alternate with rosettes in the top row, immediately below the finely braided gold strap. The necklace is exceptionally well preserved except for the enamel inlay that must once have filled the petals of the rosettes. The finger ring (S12) is a simple spiral terminating above and below in serpent heads. The plainer necklace of gold spools and beads (S13) may be compared with a necklace found near Amphipolis and published by Amandry (Collection Hélène Stathatos 3 [1963], p. 248, fig. 148). The seven rosettes (S14—S20) must have been attached to a piece of clothing or a headdress.

Published:

E. Robinson in MMA Bulletin I (1905—1906), pp. 118—120;
C. Alexander, Jewelry (1928), passim.