Sarmatian Gold Necklace with Garnets

1st century BC-1st century AD
A fine round-section trichinopoly band with loop and collar to each end, series of five graduated gold hinged ovoid plaques each with an cloison red garnet cabochon and granulated border. 40 grams, 33cm (13"). Very fine condition.
Provenance
Property of a lady living in Kent, UK; formerly part of her grandfather's collection; acquired in Germany after WWII; thence by descent 2006.
Literature
Cf. Platonov, S. and Taruta, S. Masterpieces of Platar, Kiev, 2004, item 155-6.
Footnotes
This type of necklace was manufactured by the Sarmatians in the time of their greatest expansion, beginning between the 4th and 3rd century BC, when they expanded to inhabit the area from Vistula River to the mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga, bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas as well as the Caucasus to the south. The area known to the Greco-Roman world as Sarmatia covers modern-day Ukraine and Southern Russia as well as the north-eastern Balkans and areas around Moldova. From the second century BC, the Sarmatians played an important role in the Pontic region, establishing close links with the Greek colonies there, leading to considerable cultural exchange. This style of necklace has been found across the region known as Sarmatia, especially in Ukraine, and displays strong influence from the late Greek Hellenistic jewellery traditions.

In the 1st century AD, the Sarmatians began encroaching upon the Roman Empire in alliance with Germanic tribes. In the 3rd century AD, their dominance of the Pontic Steppe was broken by the Germanic Goths. With the Hunnic invasions of the 4th century, many Sarmatians joined the Goths and other Germanic tribes (Vandals) in the settlement of the Western Roman Empire.