Title
Ear plug
Year/Period
Kushana period (1st-3rd centuries CE)
Region
Sunga-Kushana period, North India
Dimension
Object size: D4.3 x H1.7 cm
Accession No.
1995-00616
Collection of
This earring is one of a group of seven ivory discal ear plugs from ancient India. They are carved on both sides with concentric circles in increasing diameter. Earrings such as this were worn by pulling the earlobe and fixing the earring along its outer rim which is grooved to fit into the opening in the ear lobe. Four of these earrings have a hole in the middle while three are solid. Ear ornaments are the most widely excavated objects after beads in the Indic civilizations, all the way from the Indus-Sarasvati to the medieval periods. This suggests the importance accorded to this ornament in Indic civilization.
