ROMAN GOLD BULLA
Circa 1st Century B. C.
"This a Roman version of an earlier Etruscan jewelry type. The Etruscans, an early pre-Roman and still powerful people of northwestern Italy, likewise sent delegations to Alexander in Babylon to affirm and celebrate his godhood and achievements. Famed in antiquity for their love of luxurience and for their mastery of goldwork, their ambassadors would undoubtedly have brought gifts of finely wrought and formed gold."
Composed of two convex disks joined by a rigid sheet gold loop, attached by means of two wires each with a spiral knot with a gold wire suspension necklace above. This is a well known early Roman form of jewelry adapted by the Etruscans.
The Bulla was worn around the neck from infancy by the sons of Roman citizens as an insignia of their free birth. On coming of age it was laid ceremoniously aside in their household lararium.
Provenance: Heidie Vollmoeller acquired in 1956 from
Jacques Matossian.
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