Champagne Pearl Palmette Necklace

Artists in ancient Greece and Rome used linear patterns and floral motifs to complement the graceful shapes of vases, to weave into their fabrics, and as architectural and sculptural decoration. The palmette and the lotus can be traced to ancient Egypt and became known and used by the Greeks in the seventh century B.C., when they expanded their trade far beyond the Mediterranean, opening them up to the influences of Near Eastern civilizations.

The palmette is a stylized palm frond appearing frequently on antiquities objects in the Museum's collection. The motif also appears throughout the exterior of the Getty Villa as beautiful and utilitarian roofing tiles called antefixes. The lotus rosette repeats as part of the intricate pattern of ceiling coffers at the Villa, based on originals from a Street of the Tombs monument in Pompeii.