Graeco-Roman Gold and Emerald Necklace Element Set. 2nd century BC-3rd century AD. An assemblage of gold necklace elements comprising: twenty-four heart-shaped leaves modelled in the half round; ten cylindrical emerald beads; a gold chain with hook for suspension; a large emerald pendant in a gold frame with piecrust edge, a breloque to the lower edge from which an emerald bead with chain and pearl or iridescent glass bead is hanging; mounted in a custom-made display case.See Hiebert, F., Cambon, P., Afghanistan, crossroads of the Ancient World, London, 2011; D’Ambrosio, A., Gli ori di Oplontis, Napoli, 1987; Ogden, J.M., Gold Jewellery in Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine Egypt, Durham, 1990, cf. figs.277 (gold loop-in-loop chain necklet with emerald beads), 295 (emerald beads alternated to openwork pendants of trapezoidal form) and also 327, 412.46.62 grams total, 0.6-13.5cm (1/4 - 5 1/4"). Property of a London gentleman; formerly in a 1980s London, UK, collection; accompanied by an archaeological expertise by Dr Raffaele D’Amato and an independent specialist report and valuation by graduate gemmologist and jewellery expert Anna Rogers, GIA GG, BA, Gem-A, ref. no. 174325/24/03/2021; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no. 10666-174325.The conquests of Alexander the Great created unprecedented contacts among Europe and distant cultures, not only by spreading Greek styles across the known world, but also exposing Greek art and artists to new and exotic influences. Significant innovations in Greek jewellery can be traced even earlier to the time of Philip II of Macedon (r. 360/359–336 BC), father of Alexander the Great. Applications in the shape of hearts divided in half, are found for example in the Nomad tombs of Kushan, more specifically in Tillya Tepe, from the second quarter of the 1st century AD (Hiebert, Cambon, 2011, p.257, fig.164"). Emeralds and pearls came in fashion and were widely used in Ptolemaic Egypt, probably obtained from the Eastern Desert and the Persian Gulf. [36]