Earring with lion-griffin terminal

Earring with lion-griffin terminal

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hoops formed of wound wire with animal head terminals are the commonest type of Hellenistic earring. The griffin is a mythical winged animal that could have an eagle head or a horned lion-head. The latter is the only sort found on Egyptian jewelry; it has been suggested that it was associated with the Macedonian dynasty, while the eagle griffin was associated with the Achamenid Persians. The 'collar' behind the lion-griffin's head is decorated with granulation and filagree.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.