Pair of Serpent Bracelets
| Culture | Greek |
|---|---|
| Title | Pair of Serpent Bracelets |
| Date | 200–100 BCE |
| Medium | Gold |
| Dimensions | |
| Credit Line | Burton Y. Berry Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 76.95.46 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
Coiling around the wearer’s arms, these gold snakes capture the gliding, sensuous, and sinister nature of the creature which has held an age-old fascination for mankind. While our specific pair originated in Egypt, these reptiles continue a tradition of bracelets in the form of snakes which in Greece began already in the Archaic period with bronze and silver examples.
This different species of snake and its lively depiction result from a new aesthetic in Hellenistic times, as serpents and all creatures in general were observed more closely. The artist has downplayed their fierceness and created naturalistic, but arresting and aesthetically convincing images of these mythic reptiles. For their Egyptian wearer, the snakes most likely had amuletic, healing, or other religious meanings.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
Request this image
The Eskenazi Museum of Art provides images of its collection, free of charge, upon request.
This artwork is under copyright protection. You can request the image and it will be emailed to you when the request is complete.
Cite this page
"Pair of Serpent Bracelets | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=76.95.46