Bidspirit auction | Egyptian Multi-Stranded Mummy Bead Necklace


Egyptian Multi-Stranded Mummy Bead Necklace Collection - Late Period, 664-525 B.C. Restrung using polychrome mummy beads of annular and tubular types. Cf. similar specimens in faience at the Worchester Art Museum, inventory no.1925.539. 26.7 grams, 74 cm long (29 1/8 in.). Acquired before 1979.From the private collection of Mr F. A., South Kensington, London, UK; thence by descent 2014. For thousands of years, artisans in Egypt created vibrant ceramics to echo the beauty of rare jewels. These ornaments were created with almost every material, colour and texture imaginable and they come from across Egypt and beyond: vibrant blue lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, glossy black obsidian from the territory in modern Turkey, and aqua-green turquoise from the Sinai. They were worn in life and, after death, they served as precious ornamentation for mummies. [No Reserve]