This necklace has a central pendant, which is long, oval and shaped in a cylinder like golden holder. The necklace is suspended in a cylindrical ring, which is decorated with triangles that are made of granules. The necklace is a true classic feature of the Phoenician arts and crafts whose influence borrows heavily from the lifestyles of the people of that time who lived in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The necklace has other four pendants that are shaped with wire borders and surrounded by several granules, which are all linked to the pendants through the wire suspension.
The necklace has a pendant, which draws attention because of its flattened granule, which has a collar that attaches it to the suspension ring (Gowing 37). The length of the pendants is 1.5 centimetres while the width is 1.3 centimetres, with the total circa of the necklace being 20 centimeters.
The necklace has pendants that consist of two golden sheets with a suspension, which is incised. There are fifteen cornelian beads that are connected together within the necklace, which have diverse shapes and different positions from each other.
Some of the beads are spherical, others are cylindrical and others have the shape of a double cone (Gowing 41). All these shapes are joined together to create an art piece, which is not only authentic but it also communicates deep cultural aspects of the Phoenicians and the practices they carried out in the ancient times.
It is thought that the time period when the necklace was made must have been from the 7th C BC to 6th C BC. This is because of the dominant aspect of the gold and amber minerals, which are used in the design of the necklace.
The Phoenicians were prominent in their trade and through these interactions; they borrowed aspects and cultural influences of other cultures they met and adopted them as their own (Pater 88).
This infusion made the Phoenicians to be well known for crafts that were done in ivory, glass, wood and precious stones, which were mainly produced out of the various items of trade that the Phoenicians exchanged with the people they traded with.
The art pieces had a significant place within the culture and practices of Phoenicians as the artisans were concerned about the level of visual appeal an item of art was able to sustain.
These art pieces served religious, trade, funeral or other symbolic festivals, which had a lot of meaning in the cultural significance of the Phoenicians during that era. These art pieces were meant to communicate various messages either to the departed or to the supreme spiritual figures regarding the nature of the ceremonies that were conducted at that time (Pater 89).
The known forms of art that tell a story about the Phoenicians are mainly those related to funeral and burial rites. The jewelry, amulets, scarabs, amulets, ivory boxes, terra cotta and cosmetic items, were all objects, which signified a higher rank and status within the society. All these were accompaniments during funeral ceremonies and they must have had a higher level of significance within the Phoenician society.
Some of these forms of art have been found in ancient temples and tombs and most of the art found was mainly in form of small items. Phoenicians must have had a habit of adorning such items whenever they could be going for social or private functions (Pater 90).
Phoenicians interacted a lot with the Greeks, Egyptians, Iberians and Assyrians in the past and as such, the art and crafts that they came up with must have been influenced by these interactions.
These interactions were mainly in form of trade from which the Phoenicians borrowed some trends in art and crafts from their counterparts who hailed from other lands. The art had a distinct feature of being conservative given that the motifs and decorations were reproduced in a similar pattern for a period of several centuries.
The Phoenician art borrowed heavily from Egyptian, Assyrian and Greek designs, which were similar in color, tone and appearance. There was imitation in some of the works where the artists reproduced the art forms that they had seen in the other societies that interacted with them.
The artists focused on the appearance of object and visual appeal was the main motivation for each artist in the area (Pater 94). The decorative forms were in the form of an ibis or a swan, which made objects have a high-quality design.
The jewelry and scarabs at the time were mainly decorated through floral art and at times with the use of representational art. The representational art was mainly in form of plants, ants, animals, people or even divinities.
Some of the crafts were mainly inspired by Greek icons of religion and other religious symbols, which were reproduced by artists of that time, especially in the 5th century BC.
The artistic symbols were mainly used and reproduced after interactions of trade, war and travel. The necklace of five gold pendants and twenty one stone beads captures the essence of the Phoenician spirit and cultural attitudes in its overall design.
Works Cited
Gowing, Lawrence. A History of Art. London: Borders Press, 2002. Print.
Pater, Walter Horatio. Greek Studies: A Series of Essays. Middlesex: Echo Library, 2006. Print.