This funerary diadem is made of thin sheet gold with a die-formed design. It is in the shape of a pediment and highly decorated. In the centre Ariadne and Dionysos sit back to back. Ariadne is on the right and wears the traditional chiton and himation dress. Dionysos is on the left. They both hold the thyrsos, the attribute of the god, a stick entwined with ivy and vine, crowned with a pine cone. They are faced by four seated women on each side, separated and supported by scrolls. These women, presumably the Muses, are engaged in a variety of activities. The ends of the diadem are pierced so that it could be fitted with a link or a cord and tied to the forehead.

This diadem is part of a series found most commonly in the eastern Mediterranean, especially on the coast of Asia Minor. It is called the Abydos diadem, after the place where it was found, on the European side of the Hellespont. Its closest iconographical parallel is the Madytos diadem, now at the British Museum, also the finest in the series. A modern replica of the V&A diadem, probably by Castellani who used to own the original before it was acquired by the V&A in 1884, is now in Berlin.