Necklace

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodRoman Period - early Middle Ages

Date3rd-mid 10th Century CE

MediumGold, carnelian

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions8 11/16 x 5/16 x 5/16 in., 7 g (22 x 0.8 x 0.8 cm, 1/4 oz.)

Object number2018.010.211

Label TextThis chain-link necklace intersperses gold biconical beads with carnelian flattened octahedron beads. The gold biconical beads are likely Roman and date to the third century CE or later. The carnelian faceted beads date to 800–1100 CE. These beads probably came from Viking looting and were worn by women to advertise the success of their men in battle. Mixtures of such different bead types were done to pique the interest of modern jewelry wearers.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
Published ReferencesMelinda K. Hartwig, ed. Life and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 15.

ProvenancePurchased by Georges Ricard (1921-2012) from Hotel des Commissaires-Priseures, Marseille, France, February 21, 1975. lot 463Bis. Ex coll. Musée de l'Égypte et le Monde Antique, Collection Sanousrit, Monaco, 1975-1982. Ex coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California.

Status

Not on view

Collections