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Roman

Funerary wreath, 300-399 CE

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Roman

Title

Funerary wreath

Year

300-399 CE

Medium

Gold

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • gold

Dimensions

Length: 26 cm (10 1/4 inches) (right)

Type

  • Jewelry

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

32.007

Projects & Publications

Publications

Manual / Issue 7

Alchemy
Read Online

Selected Works

Classical Jewelry

Ancient Jewelry from the Museum's Collection

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries

Wreaths held an important place in the classical world. They were awarded as prizes to victors at athletic contests or festivals, offered to the gods in temples and sanctuaries, and given to the dead at funerals. Gold wreaths were most often grave gifts and there are many elaborate examples representing known varieties of trees in precious metal. This funerary wreath appears to be a naturalistic representation of an olive branch, perhaps connecting it with athletics, as olive wreaths were placed on the heads of victors at the ancient Olympic games. Although gold wreaths as funerary gifts were more common in fourth-century BCE Greece, the construction of this wreath points to the late Roman period.

Related

No Image Available

Unknown artist

funerary wreath, 300-399 CE
No Image Available

Unknown artist

funerary wreath, 300-399 CE

Roman

Six Leaves for Funerary wreath, 300-399 CE

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Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Funerary wreath with the accession number of 32.007. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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