Gold earring with Nike driving a two-horse chariot, Greek, at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Gold earring with Nike driving a two-horse chariot at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
This beautifully detailed earring dates from 350 - 325 BCE. Wearing a belted chiton (tunic), a full-length skirt, and several items of jewelry, Nike, the granddaughter of Poseidon, leans forward, her left hand pulling on the reins of the horses, whose front legs rear sharply. In Greek mythology, Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the victors with glory and fame, symbolized by a wreath of laurel leaves. When Zeus was assembling allies for the Titanomachy against the older deities, Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer, in which she is often portrayed in Classical Greek art like this exquisite piece of jewelry. The features on the goddess's face are crisp and her expression resolute, while the animals appear startled and tense. Raised as if in flight, Nike's elaborate, feathery, and finely chased wings provide an elegant counterbalance to the dynamic composition. The ornament is composed of more than a hundred individual elements soldered together. The bodies of the figures are crafted from gold sheet that is embellished with wirework details and small gold balls. The honeysuckle palmette is fashioned into curved petals and circular stamens outlined with fine twisted wires; remnants of enamel survive on several of the stamens. In the center of the leaf is a tear-shaped fruit encrusted with dense gold granulation. A hoop on the underside was probably attached to an ear wire, which is now missing.


Image courtesy of the museum.

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