Ring with snake's head terminals twisted to form the bezel

Roman Period

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 137

Snake jewelry was not limited to Egypt in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, and, in fact, was not a traditional Egyptian sort of jewelry before the Ptolemaic Period. Bracelets with animals, including snakes, appeared in Western Asia from about the eighth century BC, and spread to Greece in the fifth century BC, and came to Egypt mainly with the Ptolemaic Dynasty. In Greek culture there were certainly healing associations with snakes, but there may have been other assocations, too.

Ring with snake's head terminals twisted to form the bezel, gold

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10.130.1509 upper right; .1510 right; .1511 upper left; 24.2.9 center; 24.2.10 left