QUICK FACTS
Name: Pectoral with coins
What it is: A necklace made from gold coins
Where it is from: Egypt via Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul)
When it was made: Between 539 and 550
In the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire, it was fashionable to make necklaces, bracelets, belts and rings out of gold coins to showcase one's wealth, power and association with the emperor. This pectoral, or neck ring, which was found in Egypt but was likely made in Constantinople, is "one of the most intricate pieces of gold jewelry to survive from the mid-sixth century," according to Stephanie Caruso, an assistant curator at the Art Institute of Chicago.
