Gold Penannular Earrings. Bronze Age, Minoan Civilisation, 2nd Millenium Bc.

A pair of gold penannular earrings.

Bronze Age, Minoan Civilisation, 2nd Millenium BC.

Each earring measures 2.5cm in diameter.

Each earring weighs 4.4 grams.

This fine pair of penannular earrings is formed from solid, square-profiled gold rods, skillfully hammered and shaped in the characteristic open-ring style of the Minoan Bronze Age. Their elegant simplicity speaks to the refined aesthetic and metallurgical expertise of 2nd millennium BC Crete.

While originally intended as earrings, their form and proportions allow them to be worn today as striking finger rings—stacked, worn separately, or shared as meaningful betrothal or friendship rings. Each corresponds approximately to ring size S (UK) / 9 (US) / 60 (EU), with some flexibility due to their open design.

Provenance: Private English Collection, assembled between the late 1970s and early 1990s.

Comparable examples:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1892-0520-72

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/252386

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/242584

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/246762

https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/580897-0