Domitia Pendant

This ancient necklace is truly a showstopper, with a beautifully framed cabochon gemstone crowning a gorgeous cluster of grapes, beneath. It is based on a pair of Roman earrings dating to the first century AD, and is also available as earrings on our website, here. This pendant may be purchased along with one of our Italian chains, here.

"Domitia" is the female patronymic of the name Domitianus. One famous Domitia was the wife of the emperor Domitian (r. AD 81 - 96), Domitia Longina. This Domitia was not only the Augusta, or empress of Rome, from whom the emperor "could not bear to be separated (Suetonius, Life of Domitian 3.1), but she was, too, a strong and independent woman: Domitia Longina was the owner of the beautiful Horti Domitiae, a large luxury garden estate in the north of the city, which was located immediately across the river from the historical city center. This imperial estate would soon become the location for the mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian (r. AD 117 - 138), which is known today as the Castel Sant' Angelo.