Disk with a Lion's Head

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Culture Etruscan

Title Disk with a Lion's Head

Date 600–500 BCE

Medium Gold

Dimensions Overall: 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 86.4.2

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About this Work

The Etruscans were accomplished metalsmiths, so it is not surprising that jewelry-making blossomed in Etruria as well. This lion-head disc utilizes granulation, a technique that decorates a gold sheet with small pellets of gold. Granulation became popular on Greek jewelry in the classical and Hellenistic period, but it probably originated with Etruscans. This complex technique was lost to later cultures, only to be rediscovered in the 19th century.

Provenance
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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.

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"Disk with a Lion's Head | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=86.4.2