Jewelry of the Thracian priestess Leseskepra, Anchialo, Bulgaria

Golden jewelry of a rich Thracian woman and high priestess Leseskepra from Anchialo (present-day Pomorie, Bulgaria); 1st century BCE – 1st century CE. Leseskepra possessed two sets of jewels: earrings with figures of sphinx combined with a necklace – band with pendants and also earrings and necklace with heads of lynx decorated with inlayed cabochons of colored glass.

The most interesting are big earrings / ear ornaments with a sphinx figurines standing on the decorated base. The body of the sphinx is hollow, made of two stamped parts. The round element with the palmette ornament refers to the Isis crown. The cross beam above the sphinx’s head contains the inscription – the woman’s name written in Greek “ΛΗСΗСΚΗПРОУ”. The earrings are 8 x 4 cm in size.

A pair of earrings with a triangular plate decorated with cabochons and a glass amphora-shaped pendant and chains. An essential feature of the earrings is a gold triangular plate with appliqued cells designed to hold one drop-shaped and three circular stones. The surface between the cells is decorated with volutes executed in plain filigree wire. Four chains are attached to the edges of the base with a gold-set coloured stone fastened by a hinge in the middle, connected in turn with a glass amphorisk, also set in gold. The hook, folded downwards, is soldered to the back of the plate. The dimensions of the triangular plates are 3.2 x 3.2 x 2.3 cm

Strap-chain necklace with amphora-like pendants from Anchialos

The necklace in a shape of a long strap-chain, is 3 cm wide and 22.7 cm long. The necklace is composed of 11 interconnected loop-in-loop chains, with 80 vase-shaped hollow pendants and composite terminals attached to its lower end.