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Gold openwork hairnet with medallion

ca. 200–150 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 163
This hairnet, with its combination of delicate filigree, carefully hammered decorative bust, and spool-shaped beads, is a superb example of the Hellenistic goldsmith's skill. The medallion represents the head of a maenad, one of the female followers of the god Dionysos, wearing spiral earrings, a wreath of vine leaves and grapes, and a panther skin.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Gold openwork hairnet with medallion
  • Period: Hellenistic
  • Date: ca. 200–150 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Ptolemaic
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm) x 3 9/16 in. (9cm)
  • Classification: Gold and Silver
  • Credit Line: Gift of Norbert Schimmel, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.220
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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1079. Gold openwork hairnet with medallion

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