A PAIR OF GOLD EAR PENDANTS

The ear pendants are constructed of six separate elements.The top element is a cluster of gold balls covered in granulation design and surrounded by gold discs bound on with gold wire.This leads into a group of three gold balls with fine granulation,two of them pierced,below this is a repeat of the top element leading into a group of tassles with plaited chains and dagger pointed pendents. 

This type of ear pendant was worn by the Xianbei tribe of the Northern Wei period; In a stone reliquary excavated in Dingxian Hebei, a pair of ear pieces similar to these were found. 

Similar Examples 

Kwan S;Sun ji: Chinese Gold Ornaments p 332#184 

Art of the Chinese Goldsmith, The Cheng Xun Tang Collection,The Art Museum,The Institute for Chinese Studies,The Chinese Art Museum Hong Kong 2007 P 100 #B19