Pair of upper arm bracelets in the form of a coiled snake, Greek, 225–175 B.C. Bracelets: Gold; Fastening pin: Copper alloy, 7.8 cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California, 92.AM.8.6. © J. Paul Getty Trust

Pair of armlets made of solid gold. Each is designed as a single snake coiled to strike with its head rising from the top of the armlet and its tail twisting at the bottom. The pieces were embellished with decorative engraving and punching, preserving evidence of the use of numerous tools: a round-end punch for the eyes of the snake, a graver for deep lines and hatching, and a punch with a v-shaped tip to create the scale pattern of the reptile's skin. The bracelets are designed to be worn as a pair, mirroring one another. A traditional pin-and-hinge construction closes the bracelets at the elaborately filigreed clasp. Each terminal is fashioned from a single piece of sheet metal to which the filigree has been applied before its ends were affixed with a series of loops. Closure was effected by aligning the loops and passing a pin through, the final result imitating a length of bead-and-spool wire in order to disguise its function.