Mediterranean Amphora Earrings

The amphora is one of the most recognisable shapes to survive from the ancient Mediterranean world.

With its narrow neck, two handles and distinctive vessel-shaped body, the form appeared across centuries of ancient life. Amphorae and related vessels were used for storing, serving and transporting goods, becoming familiar objects in homes, workshops, markets and ports.

Under Roman rule, the Mediterranean became connected by an extraordinary network of maritime trade.

Ships crossed its waters carrying wine, olive oil and other commodities between provinces and ports. Ceramic vessels travelled with them in enormous numbers, while more decorative vessels in glass and precious materials occupied homes and dining spaces throughout the Roman world.

Archaeology preserves these objects in very different ways.

Some have survived in the buried remains of ancient towns and cities. Others have been recovered from shipwrecks, where cargoes of amphorae still rest beneath Mediterranean waters centuries after the vessels carrying them disappeared.

The Mediterranean Amphora Earrings celebrate this enduring archaeological form.

Their elongated bodies, sweeping handles and intricate golden ornament transform an object associated with ancient Mediterranean life and travel into miniature pieces of wearable treasure.

Whether discovered beneath the earth or beneath the sea, these vessels remain tangible traces of the people, journeys and exchanges that connected the ancient world.

An icon of the ancient Mediterranean, captured in gold.