This exquisite gold brooch set with cabochons of ruby, garnet, and emerald attests to the high status enjoyed by its owner as well as her love of beautiful jewelry. The space between the precious stones has been decorated with tiny spheres or grains of gold that have been melted together in a technique known as granulation. In the middle, a figure who may represent a goddess has been shaped in gold, probably by embossing. At the time, emeralds like green gems in this brooch were mined in Egypt. The word "garnet" is derived from the French grenat, meaning "pomegranate", and shares its color with this fruit.
Provenance: Ḥamā.
Era: Roman.
Substance: gold, rubies, garnet, and emeralds.
Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.6 x .9 cm.
Text: Michel Fortin (p. 301).
Photography: Jacques Lessard.
Collection of the National Museum of Damascus.
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.
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