Medieval Goldsmith`s Art: The Cologne Earring ~11th Century...
06 December 2011
Golden earring
Medieval Goldsmith's Art: The Colgone Earring ~11th Century
Excavations in the 11th century sewer have brought to surface a particularly important piece of jewelry: a magnificently elaborated earring displaying distinct characteristics of Imperial gold work. The discovery of such an important piece of jewelry like the Cologne earring was totally unexpected and impressively underlines the significance of the Archeological Zone Cologne and its international importance.
The earring is made of gold and richly ornamented with gemstone, pearls and an antique gemma. It has the shape of a so called “Luluna”, in the form of a half-moon (or more accurate: three-quarters of a moon). Similar earrings have already been found in other excavations, however, the magnificent and elaborate design suggests that the Cologne earring is indeed a unique piece of jewelry.
A remarkable feature of its design is the fact that turquoise glass pearls change with real, very large pearls, enriched by dark red decorative glass stones. Glass used to be a particularly precious material in the early and high Middle Ages. The dark red stones form an interesting contrast to the dark blue Roman gemma with the image of an Eros who tortures a butterfly with his torch, an antique symbol for the tortures of the soul through love.