Bracelet; Armlets and bracelets; Gold; Pearl
Gazda: Bracelet. Gold, pearls. This bracelet is an example of pre-Ptolemaic goldwork. Its pearls, irregular like most that survive from the ancient world, would have been prized possessions with erotic associations. Pearls were also used in medicine and magic. Perhaps from the north coast of Egypt, such pearls were traded throughout the Mediterranean. According to tale repeated by Roman authors, Cleopatra VII owned the two largest and most valuable pearls ever known, which she wore as earrings. In an ostentatious demonstration of her wealth, she challenged Mark Antony to a contest in which she dissolved one of the pearls in wine and drank it. Mark Antony refused to do likewise, thereby conceding to victory to Cleopatra.
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