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Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE) / 100–1 BCE

Vulture Headdress Inlay

The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Vulture Headdress Inlay as jewelry (Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE) · 100–1 BCE).

WHY IT’S INTERESTING

When creating this headdress, artisans used numerous semiprecious stones with inset partitions to keep them separate. To ensure that the stones would stay in place, a resin-like material was used as an adhesive.

SERENDIPITYA little unexpected

FamiliarWeird

A CLOSER LOOK

The museum identifies this jewelry as gold and semi-precious stones.

The museum's collection notes: The vulture headdress was worn by goddesses and queens. This inlay in the form of a vulture headdress has more than 100 stones: lapis lazuli (dark blue), turquoise (light blue), petrified wood (red), and an unidentified white stone painstakingly cut to shape and separated by thin plates of gold. Body, wing, and tail feathers are carefully distinguished in minute detail.

FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE

The Cleveland Museum of ArtVulture Headdress Inlay

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