Egyptian Snake Pendant

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$85.00

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Item# 80007495

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Our chic Egyptian Snake Pendant is based on a gold bracelet from the Macedonian and Ptolemaic period (ca. 332-30 B.C.) and feature a sinuous snake. After Egypt came under the rule of the Greeks and later became a province of the Roman Empire (after 27 B.C.), the snake became a fashionable jewellery motif, well suited for coiling around the neck and wrist. The bold coiled design on the original bracelet has been adapted to our pendant.
24K gold overlay. Snake pendant: 2''L; Cable chain: 18''L. Lobster claw clasp.

24K gold overlay
Snake pendant: 2''L, Cable chain: 18''L
Lobster claw clasp

Reliefs and paintings on tomb walls and painted depictions of jewellery on mummy portraits and mummy cases provide evidence of how jewellery was made and worn in ancient Egypt. Pendants, necklaces, earrings, diadems, armlets, bracelets, anklets, and hair ornaments not only beautified the wearer but often served as amulets, protecting the owner from harm. Finely worked pieces of jewellery were commonly placed in the tombs of the royal family and high-ranking officials. Two main types of serpent jewellery are represented in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods-one suggesting a realistic snake, with a head and a tail, and a second type with two snake heads, one at each terminal. The sinuous coiling shape of the reptile was especially well suited to the design of rings and bracelets. The snake also had positive associations, particularly with Asclepius, a benevolent Greek god of medicine and healing.