Title
A pair of earrings
Year/Period
1st century (Kushana period 1st-3rd centuries CE)
Region
north-west India
Object Type
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 001 - 002: W3.5 cm each
Accession No.
2001-00350
Collection of
These Kushana period (1st-4th centuries CE) earrings are made with sheet gold, embossed and granulated, with the two sides soldered together at the inner and outer edges. Hinges are conspicuously absent, which probably means the wearer must have wide openings in the earlobes to slide them through. It is unusual to find pre-Kushana or Kushana earrings survive as a pair. The use of gold and silver, along with pearls and beads during this period, suggests the importance of jewellery in the fashion of the day. They were not just decorative but had a social, religious and economic significance.
