Ancient Lion Pendant Necklace

$98.00 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Our modern necklace in 14k vermeil evokes an ancient gold lion-head pendant in The Met, which was made on the island of Cyprus during the second half of the 5th century BCE. On the original pendant, the lion-head is finely modeled in two halves, left and right, with a flat gold sheet closing off the neck aperture. For centuries, global cultures have crafted jewelry with protective charms that wearers believe will enhance their personal power: symbols of religious faith, images of fierce creatures, bells to…