Two Egyptian Faience Tri-Strand Bead Necklaces, Late Period to Roman

Egypt, Late Dynastic to Roman Period. Two necklaces, each of three strands, assembled from ancient Egyptian faience beads that have been restrung in modern times. The shorter necklace mixes tiny disc and ring beads with slender tubes, and it is spaced at intervals with pale cream discs that add a lighter rhythm to the blue. The longer necklace is more architectural. Long cylindrical tubes alternate with clusters of small discs, so each strand reads almost as a line of segmented reeds. Across both pieces the glazes range from turquoise and sky blue to softer greens and oatmeal tones where the surface has weathered. Faience took its color from copper and was valued for the same blue-green as turquoise, a color the Egyptians linked with rebirth and renewal. The two necklaces bring together beads from several centuries in a form that can still be worn. Egyptian faience is not a true clay ceramic. It is a body made mostly of crushed quartz or sand, mixed with small amounts of lime and natron or plant ash. This paste was shaped or molded and then fired. Its glassy skin could form in one of three ways: soluble salts migrated to the surface as the piece dried, the object was packed in a glazing powder, or a glaze slurry was applied directly. Copper compounds produced the blue and green colors. The Egyptians called the material tjehenet, meaning "dazzling," which reflects the value placed on its brightness. Small tubular and disc beads like these were made in huge numbers from the Late Period onward. They were used for personal ornament, and they were also woven into the bead nets that covered mummies. Over time, weathering often fades the glaze unevenly, which explains the mix of vivid blue and muted beads on these strands. Item # 205023

Estimate:£302.69

View all items fromArtemis Fine ArtsorJewellery & Gems