A European gold bracelet, Late Bronze Age, circa 1000-750 B.C.
Lot 113. A European gold bracelet, Late Bronze Age, circa 1000-750 B.C. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 12,000. Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2016.
4 in. (10.2 cm.) wide
Provenance: Edmund Roy Hofmann (1901-1977), Philadelphia, acquired in Europe, 1930s-1950s; thence by descent.
Note: Formed of hammered sheet gold, this rare and unusual bracelet takes the form of a wide cuff tapering in at each end, with a smooth raised ridge along its length. The ridge is flanked by bands of incised herringbone pattern, while the edges are slightly flanged. The ends have incised zigzag punctuated by dotted circles, while the exterior of the conical terminals each have five concentric bands of hatching alternating in direction. A close parallel is the example from the jewelry hoard found at Morvah in Cornwall, England. The Morvah bracelet is a hollow penannular hoop, somewhat rounded in section. It shares with the bracelet presented here similar open conical terminals as well as carefully incised geometric ornament. For the Morvah bracelet, see pl. 110 in H. Tait, ed., Jewelry, 7000 Years.
Christie's. Sale 12257. Antiquities, 25 October 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza