A Western Asiatic gold pendant featuring plain gold disc, which would have been carefully cut from hammered sheet gold, dangling from the bottom of a circular pearl bead. A thin gold pin holds the two parts in place and folds downwards to form a loop for suspension. Many grand civilisations inhabited the Near East, their wealth and prosperity is witnessed by the very sophisticated precious metal crafting of jewellery. Gold would have been hammered down to a thin layer and manipulated into different shapes. The Repoussé and chasing techniques were used to create designs in high and low relief by hammering shapes into the metal from either the front or the reverse. Gold and silver jewellery were also enriched with gold granules, glass and semi-precious stone inlays and detailed engravings. Very fine granulation along with filigree, were at the centre of Near Eastern and Western Asiatic jewellery production and were later adopted by the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans. Measurements: Length~1.8cm, Width~0.7cm Weight: 0.16g Provenance: Ex Japanese private collection, deceased, 1970-2010.