Antique jewelry glossary

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Leech earring

A type of earring made of a sheet of metal folded and joined to form a hollow, leech-shaped piece, with a curved wire attached at the top to pass through the lobe. Such earrings were popular in Egypt in the XVIIIth Dynasty (c. 1552 BC - 1296 BC), being worn by women, often in a pair on each lobe. Some examples of Greek jewelry of the classical style, 4th century BC, were made with much decoration in filigree work and with suspended ornaments.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson