The Hemisphere Armilla of Herculaneum is a refined 18K gold-plated 925 silver bracelet, inspired by the original cat. n° 3647 of the Superintendence of Pompeii, today preserved at the Archaeological Museum of Naples.

The excavation campaigns conducted between 1980 and 1999 at the ancient beach of Herculaneum brought to light a notable number of jewels belonging to the inhabitants of the city, some of which found next to their owners, who died during the tragic escape from the eruption of Vesuvius.

Among these precious finds, gold jewellery stands out, including necklaces and earrings of different shapes, often enriched with pearls, and finely worked bracelets, which testify to the social status of the middle class of the time. A similar example of this type of jewel was also found in the House of the Venus in Bikini in Pompeii.

The Semisphere Armilla reflects the high quality of craftsmanship of the time, combining elegance and craftsmanship in a design that continues to fascinate today.

Characteristics

• Material: 18K Gold plated 925 Silver 
• Weight: approx. 66.5 g
• Dimensions: 19,5 x 3,5 cm
• Produced in Italy

In-depth analysis

Many examples of this arm jewel with hemispherical links have been discovered in Pompeii and Herculaneum. For example in the house of Venus in a bikini in Pompeii (National Archaeological Museum of Naples). They are also found in other museums around the world, such as that of Mariemont (inv. B.357). The hemispheres of the Mariemont specimen contain concretions in their concave internal part. According to the results of the analysis, commissioned by Dr. Teresa Giove of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, the black substance was found to be beeswax. Pliny the Elder mentions, in several places in his Book XXVIII of his Natural History, the existence of various hollow bracelets into which animal or human organs and substances were inserted to make protective amulets, but does not explicitly mention wax as a material. Other copies besides the Mariemont one are also apparently free of concretions (they are not completely resealable, as Véronique Lamy admits). It is not excluded that this wax comes very simply from the manufacturing process of the jewel (since it is equally possible that its presence has no relation to this): "it is however possible to imagine that the two printed gold leaf elements (we are in the repoussé technique) which constitute each hemisphere, were then joined together by casting hardened wax, in order to facilitate assembly. During soldering, the wax melts and comes out through an orifice provided for this purpose. ». This wax therefore remains, for the moment, a question mark. Returning to the hemispheres, « it should also be noted that this type of hollow element has been, regularly but not systematically, filled with inert materials of various nature, such as sulfur in particular. It was obviously a matter of reinforcing these light gold leaf structures and giving them a certain resistance to impacts and other accidents. It was also about increasing their weight without increasing production costs. The fashion of wearing this jewel is attested on a fresco from Herculaneum by a "Hellenic Master" entitled "Celebration of a victorious aulete" (fresco no. 9021 preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples): in the foreground, the seated woman, the head surrounded by ivy, who holds in her left hand a volume with inscription (probably only the words of her song) and seems to give, from the right, the rhythm to the two musicians who are next to her, she wears such a bracelet on her forearm and another smaller one above the elbow, but hidden by an article of clothing.

Philippe Durbecq (excerpt from his article)

Bibliography

• "Splendours. Luxury in ornaments in Herculaneum ", edited by Francesco Sirano.
•  "Female beauty in Pompeii. Cosmetics and ornaments ", edited by Antonio D'Ambrosio.
• "The collections of the National Museum of Naples ", edited by the Pedicini photographic archive.