Necklace of Egyptian mosaic glass beads
Price: on request
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Object number
AR3420D
| Object: |
Necklace made of Egyptian mosaic glass beads
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| Material: |
Beads made of blue glass and polychrome mosaic glass. Further beads made of sheet gold.
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| Period: |
1st cent. BC to 1st cent. AD. Roman Imperial period. The gold beads probably made earlier, in the second half of the first millennium BC. |
| Description: |
Modernly assembled and threaded necklace made of ancient beads. 5 polychrome mosaic glass beads and 8 gold beads. These beads stand out visually due to their size and striking design or their golden shine, respectively. They are accompanied by 88 plain blue glass beads that serve as spacers and accumulate near the clasp. In total there are 101 beads. The location of manufacturing has not been passed down. But there is the convincing conjecture that such mosaic glass beads were made in workshops in Roman Egypt, possibly in Alexandria. For the beads made of sheet gold and blue glass, the place of manufacture can only be roughly narrowed down to the eastern Mediterranean. |
| Dimensions: |
Approximately 43cm length of the entire chain. The largest bead approx. 1.5cm in diameter.
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| Condition: |
Very good condition. The ancient beads are usually complete and intact, although minor chips are possible. One mosaic bead with a reinserted fragment. Even the hollow gold beads are in excellent condition. The beads are modernly threaded onto a wire and have a gold-coloured metal clasp. The chain can be worn immediately as a necklace.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us on the British art market in 2022. Previously in a British private collection. Acquired into it at Christie's London auction 30 April 2008, lot 86. The beads were previously purchased in the 1980ies.
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| References: |
For the mosaic glass beads cf. S. M. Goldstein, Pre-Roman and Early Roman Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass, p. 273, no. 817, and also E. M. Stern, B. Schlick-Nolte, Early Glass of the Ancient World, Ernesto Wolf Collection, p. 410f, nos. 149 and 150. |
| Literature: |
For an overview on ancient and antique beads we recommend L. Sherr Dubin, The History of Beads.
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| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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