A Pair of Snake Bracelets and Three
Finger Rings: Serapis and Isis Busts
and a Coiled Snake

3rd century B.C.
Bracelets: Dia: 7.1 cm (2 13/16"); 6.7 cm (2 5/8")
Rings: Dia: 2.2 cm (7/8"); 2.3 cm (15/16"); 1.9 cm (3/4")
Burton Y. Berry Collection, 76.95.46A-B; 76.72.4; 65.87.13; 76.72.2

Striking jewelry fashioned in the shape of snakes or bearing heads of Serapis and Isis originated in Ptolemaic Egypt, where it undoubtedly had an amuletic function. The type caught on and spread through workshops elsewhere. The carefully engraved snake scales on the two bracelets were probably decorated with colorful inlays—a hallmark of Hellenistic craftsmanship.