Dated to the first century BCE, a pair of large gold earrings speculated to be from present-day Andhra Pradesh is one of the oldest pieces of jewellery found in the Indian subcontinent. Classified as prakaravapra kundala in their form, the spiral earrings constitute the only surviving example of jewellery that is depicted in ancient Indian sculpture. They show highly sophisticated craftsmanship; this, together with their size and weight and the emblematic motifs they contain, indicate that they are likely to have been royal commissions.

Made entirely of gold, each earring, about 7.6 centimetres long and 4 centimetres wide, takes the form of a vine-like stem spiralling into a trumpet-shaped bud form at both extremities. The curving stem in the middle is decorated with gold granules in diagonal rows, with small rosettes between them. The surface decoration continues outward, with larger rosettes and petal shapes appearing at the base of the buds, which have a rectangular cross-section and convex end. On each end of the earring, one of the flat faces is adorned with a vase motif lush with fronds and other floral elements symbolising fertility and plenitude, and while otherwise identical, the two earrings show a slight difference in the design of these fronds. The adjacent face shows a saddled and harnessed elephant on one end, and a bejewelled winged lion on the other end. Both the repousse animals are emblems of royalty, and are elaborately decorated, covered entirely with granules and pieces of gold wire and sheets. 

The ear ornaments were worn so that they hung vertically with the vase motif facing forward, the lions facing inward and the elephants facing outward. As with many of the ancient ear ornaments depicted in Indian art, these too are likely to have considerably distended the wearer’s earlobes, and possibly rested on their shoulders. Depictions of the Buddha commonly show such earlobes, believed to have been elongated by jewellery during his early life as a prince.