GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A baule or a bauletto means "little bag," and this Etruscan earring type earned its Italian name from their resemblance to a valise. An Etruscan design of the 6th century BCE, the basic form consists of a broad strip of gold bent into three-quarters of a cylinder. The two ends of the strip are joined by a wire or narrow band, which attached the cylinder to the ear. This wire is usually masked from the front by a decorative extension. The surfaces of the cylinder that were visible when the earring was worn are elaborately decorated. The hidden side is usually left plain or is less carefully decorated. These differences make it clear whether an earring was meant to be worn on the right ear or the left.
Adapted from
Barbara Deppert-Lippitz, Ancient Gold Jewelry at the Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art in association with the University of Washington Press, 1996), 35; 123.
NOTES
- updated provenance and geo x ref
- added Ancient Gold Jewelry publication as a text entry in TMS
- cut: Both of these remarkably small earrings consists of an open partial cylinder and a simple rectangular extension decorated with tongues outlined in plain and beaded wire. While both sides of each earring are open, one side features a narrow strip of gold decorated with filigree in a wavy pattern framed by beaded wire. The other side has only a frame of beaded and plain wires. Piece A has the decorative border on the right side, piece B on the left. The fully decorated surface of the cylinder itself is divided into twelve square compartments, arranged in pairs. Each is filled with a plain boss alternately topped with a cluster of three globules or completely covered with granulation. Each field is set off with an undulating ribbon in high relief made of broadly looped strips of gold. The outer edges of the cylinder are accentuated with beaded wire. The silver hinge pin, which held the suspension hook, is still extant.
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Artist/designers
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RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1991: probably Collection of Dr. Athos Moretti, Switzerland
From 1991: Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.
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WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- Jewelry was far more than merely ornament to the Etruscans; it was often close to being a magic charm or amulet and implied the protection of the gods.
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Apply to objects where number equals 1991.75.13.a-b
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General Description
A baule or a bauletto means "little bag," and this Etruscan earring type earned its Italian name from their resemblance to a valise. An Etruscan design of the 6th century BCE, the basic form consists of a broad strip of gold bent into three-quarters of a cylinder. The two ends of the strip are joined by a wire or narrow band, which attached the cylinder to the ear. This wire is usually masked from the front by a decorative extension. The surfaces of the cylinder that were visible when the earring was worn are elaborately decorated. The hidden side is usually left plain or is less carefully decorated. These differences make it clear whether an earring was meant to be worn on the right ear or the left.
Adapted from
Barbara Deppert-Lippitz, Ancient Gold Jewelry at the Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art in association with the University of Washington Press, 1996), 35; 123.
Fun Facts
- Jewelry was far more than merely ornament to the Etruscans; it was often close to being a magic charm or amulet and implied the protection of the gods.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- updated provenance and geo x ref
- added Ancient Gold Jewelry publication as a text entry in TMS
- cut: Both of these remarkably small earrings consists of an open partial cylinder and a simple rectangular extension decorated with tongues outlined in plain and beaded wire. While both sides of each earring are open, one side features a narrow strip of gold decorated with filigree in a wavy pattern framed by beaded wire. The other side has only a frame of beaded and plain wires. Piece A has the decorative border on the right side, piece B on the left. The fully decorated surface of the cylinder itself is divided into twelve square compartments, arranged in pairs. Each is filled with a plain boss alternately topped with a cluster of three globules or completely covered with granulation. Each field is set off with an undulating ribbon in high relief made of broadly looped strips of gold. The outer edges of the cylinder are accentuated with beaded wire. The silver hinge pin, which held the suspension hook, is still extant.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1991: probably Collection of Dr. Athos Moretti, Switzerland
From 1991: Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1991.75.13.a-b
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object_notes_2_b-0068.xml.nores