Bulgarian ??? Coin Necklace

i wonder if you girls would take a look at this. I am not really sure what to make of it !!!
I was told by the person that sold it me - It came from Bulgaria quite a few years ago - whether that is correct I cant really say.
To be honest It seems to have been cobbled together from unrelated parts and it does have some losses / missing bits - but the overall effect nevertheless is quite appealing.

Does anyone recognise the coins /medallions - the cannon ball (my term) mounts they are set in swivel 360 degrees so if they appear lop sided its because I forgot to put the coin / medallion straight before photographing. I cant see the backs of the coins.

 

that's quite the little trinket.....

 

Jewels, you evil woman. It is gorgeous!
And a positive for Bulgarian.
Bulgaria has many different styles of traditional jewellery. If people know it at all, they only know the sumptuous filigree, folk coin necklaces, or Ottoman style. But this style with 'openwork' cast metal, usually silver with gilding or gold details, is also very Bulgarian. It is a Revival style, just like Austro-Hungarian Renaissance Revival.

Check out this page of the Ethnographic Museum in Plovdiv, a city famous for its cultural heritage:
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/gQxkKRVn

The coins/medallions could be inspired by coins from antiquity. I think I see someone with a moon crescent, like Venus, although it looks more like a man than a woman. Could you post a closeup? And maybe @Bronwen can take a look?

 

"Plovdiv? It's not THAT famous," she said ignorantly.

(Silver exists left, muttering indignantly to herself)

 

Once you know Plovdiv, you are bound to know it is famous for its cultural heritage.
And don't you love that name?

 

Duh!

I looked it up. Will read the rest later, but I did know Phillippolis!

My mind works...peculiarly.

 

Cannot comment extensively as others know more about this kind of thing, but have to say what a glorious piece! It does seem to have a lot of work and quality. Not your average necklace. Can see why you purchased it.

 

AJ: Of the same ilk: Plitvice Lakes, National Park, Croatia. (My computer is rather like me...)

 

I've been there!

 

To the extent I can read the inscriptions, they are all in Roman letters. This is the great thing about coins compared to most cameos: they typically say right on them who people are. If you do a search for 'ancient coin', along with as much of each inscription as you can make out, the excellent numismatic sites out there will probably ID them for you.

What strikes me is the variety used, looks like both obverses & reverses, from a handful of different coins, instead of all being the same. Here are my doctored versions of a few of the obverses:







This last one looks like it includes DIV: 'DV, DIV, DIVO: Divus (divine) was applied to consecrated deceased rulers.'

The reverses may or may not go with the obverses; the sites will show both if you can find the right obverses. The one that appears twice looks like Victoria/Nike descending on a warrior. The seated figures will be allegorical: Roma, as INH has shown; Justicia, Fortuna; Victoria were also popular. One looks like a centaur to me, but is too out of focus to be sure.

In between are roaring lions? Think one is missing, back by the clasp? A really elaborate piece. Coins are likely to have been cast from genuine specimens. Quite a production!

Bronwen pretty much exists there too.

Figures. Where haven't you been?

 

Another one I hadn't noticed. But now that you mention it, AJ pretty much exists there as well.

 

Plovdiv.

 

OK. I was hoping no one would notice. Certainly Sartre disowned me long ago!

 

https://www.vcoins.com/fr/stores/co...3__vrbs_roma__antioch_mint/83297/Default.aspx