The solid gold pin terminating in an extended right hand holding a pomegranate, between the thumb, index finger and middle finger, circa 1st - 2nd Century AD. Length 10.8 cm.

Pomegranates... mysterious swollen spheres that break open to dramatically reveal a hoard of ruby red treasure .. this surprising and delicious fruit has been with us since antiquity and as thus, inspired a long legacy of symbolism.

As is often the case, this can be seen echoed through many cultures... In Buddhism, the pomegranate is one of the three 'Blessed Fruit' and represents good fortune, in the Jewish faith it is eaten on Jewish New Year...and for the Roman imagination, a hand holding a pomegranate evoked fertility, abundance, and also - regeneration.

Its close ties to the ancient myth of Persephone and Hades. Where the beautiful young Persephone is abducted to the underworld and tricked into a marriage with Hades by eating pomegranate seeds - as she has ingested six of them she is bound to him for 6 months of the year, the others she spends above ground ... creating a symbol of the seasons and of Nature's yearly rebirth in Spring.