Bidspirit auction | Roman Gold Chain with Ball

Roman Gold Chain with Ball Pendant - 5th century A.D.. Trichinopoly chain with hook-and-eye closure, ball pendant with beaded wire collar. Cf. Spier, J., Byzantium and the West: Jewelry in the First Millennium, London, 2012, fig.14a.2, for identical chain with cross pendant. 15.02 grams, 36.5 cm long (14 3/8 in.). From the collection of a Cambridgeshire lady, UK, 1990s. The chain is composed of links in the form of pairs of broad, ribbed bands soldered together at a right angle. It is of fine loop-in-loop construction, terminating on one side in a ribbed cap with loops. The chain of ribbed loops placed at right angles is one of several popular varieties introduced in the late Roman period. The ball pendant was very common in Graeco-Roman times, substituted by Christian symbols during the late empire.