Origin: Sinai, Egypt Circa: 1900 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as  More »

Origin: Sinai, Egypt Circa: 1900 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as the Pre-Dynastic period. According to Egyptologists, such beads were made on an axis, probably of thread, which would burn up during firing, leaving a hole. Disc, ring and tubular beads were made by coating the axis with the unfired body-paste, rolling the cylinder to an even diameter on a flat surface, and then scoring it with a knife into sections of the desired length. Other shapes, such as ball beads, were rolled between the hands and perforated while still wet with a stiff point such as a wire needle. The beads were then dried, coated with glaze (if the glaze had not already been mixed with the paste), and fired. The firing process often gave the beads a beautiful translucent quality. The majority of faience beads are blue or green in color, but black, red, yellow and white ones were also produced, especially in the New Egyptian Kingdom. - (SB.0459)   « Less

Origin: Egypt (Sinai) Circa: 1600 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as  More »

Origin: Egypt (Sinai) Circa: 1600 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as the Pre-Dynastic period. According to Egyptologists, such beads were made on an axis, probably of thread, which would burn up during firing, leaving a hole. Disc, ring and tubular beads were made by coating the axis with the unfired body-paste, rolling the cylinder to an even diameter on a flat surface, and then scoring it with a knife into sections of the desired length. Other shapes, such as ball beads, were rolled between the hands and perforated while still wet with a stiff point such as a wire needle. The beads were then dried, coated with glaze (if the glaze had not already been mixed with the paste), and fired. The firing process often gave the beads a beautiful translucent quality. The majority of faience beads are blue or green in color, but black, red, yellow and white ones were also produced, especially in the New Egyptian Kingdom. - (SB.0467)   « Less

Origin: Sinai, Egypt Circa: 1900 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as  More »

Origin: Sinai, Egypt Circa: 1900 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as the Pre-Dynastic period. According to Egyptologists, such beads were made on an axis, probably of thread, which would burn up during firing, leaving a hole. Disc, ring and tubular beads were made by coating the axis with the unfired body-paste, rolling the cylinder to an even diameter on a flat surface, and then scoring it with a knife into sections of the desired length. Other shapes, such as ball beads, were rolled between the hands and perforated while still wet with a stiff point such as a wire needle. The beads were then dried, coated with glaze (if the glaze had not already been mixed with the paste), and fired. The firing process often gave the beads a beautiful translucent quality. The majority of faience beads are blue or green in color, but black, red, yellow and white ones were also produced, especially in the New Egyptian Kingdom. - (SB.0531)   « Less

Origin: Sinai, Egypt (diverse tomb sites) Circa: 3300 BC to 1300 BC Collection: egyptian Medium: Faience-Carnelian Necklace composed of antique faience beads from the  More »

Origin: Sinai, Egypt (diverse tomb sites) Circa: 3300 BC to 1300 BC Collection: egyptian Medium: Faience-Carnelian Necklace composed of antique faience beads from the middle and new Egyptian Kingdoms and antique carnelian and yellow quartz beads from the early Egyptian dynastic period. The love of ornament is as old as civilization itself. By wearing jewelry that is unusual or unique, we define ourselves as individuals and set ourselves apart from the crowd. Throughout antiquity, in every great culture, beads were formed from colored gems, glass, ceramic, shell, bone and metal in an endless variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes they were worn for their magical or curative powers, at other times simply for their beauty. They were worn by people, highborn and low, the citizen of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Judea, Greece, Rome and Byzantium. Frequently these jewels, so prized in life, were buried with their owners to adorn them through eternity. When we wear them today, we add another chapter to their long and fascinating history. - (SB.0550)   « Less

Origin: Sinai, Egypt (diverse tomb sites) Circa: 3300 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Carnelian-Quartz The love of ornament is as old as civilization itself. By wearing jewelry that  More »

Origin: Sinai, Egypt (diverse tomb sites) Circa: 3300 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Carnelian-Quartz The love of ornament is as old as civilization itself. By wearing jewelry that is unusual or unique, we define ourselves as individuals and set ourselves apart from the crowd. Throughout antiquity, in every great culture, beads were formed from colored gems, glass, ceramic, shell, bone and metal in an endless variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes they were worn for their magical or curative powers, at other times simply for their beauty. They were worn by people, highborn and low, the citizen of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Judea, Greece, Rome and Byzantium. Frequently these jewels, so prized in life, were buried with their owners to adorn them through eternity. When we wear them today, we add another chapter to their long and fascinating history. - (SB.0551)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1900 BC to 300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as the  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1900 BC to 300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as the Pre-Dynastic period. According to Egyptologists, such beads were made on an axis, probably of thread, which would burn up during firing, leaving a hole. Disc, ring and tubular beads were made by coating the axis with the unfired body-paste, rolling the cylinder to an even diameter on a flat surface, and then scoring it with a knife into sections of the desired length. Other shapes, such as ball beads, were rolled between the hands and perforated while still wet with a stiff point such as a wire needle. The beads were then dried, coated with glaze (if the glaze had not already been mixed with the paste), and fired. The firing process often gave the beads a beautiful translucent quality. The majority of faience beads are blue or green in color, but black, red, yellow and white ones were also produced, especially in the New Egyptian Kingdom. - (SB.0582)   « Less

Origin: Egypt (Sinai) Circa: 1900 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as  More »

Origin: Egypt (Sinai) Circa: 1900 BC to 1300 BC Medium: Faience Most Ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as the Pre-Dynastic period. According to Egyptologists, such beads were made on an axis, probably of thread, which would burn up during firing, leaving a hole. Disc, ring and tubular beads were made by coating the axis with the unfired body-paste, rolling the cylinder to an even diameter on a flat surface, and then scoring it with a knife into sections of the desired length. Other shapes, such as ball beads, were rolled between the hands and perforated while still wet with a stiff point such as a wire needle. The beads were then dried, coated with glaze (if the glaze had not already been mixed with the paste), and fired. The firing process often gave the beads a beautiful translucent quality. The majority of faience beads are blue or green in color, but black, red, yellow and white ones were also produced, especially in the New Egyptian Kingdom. - (SB.0604)   « Less

Necklace consisting of an assortment of genuine faience beads, ranging in period from the Middle Bronze to the Roman period. - (SB.0620)

Necklace consisting of an assortment of genuine faience beads, ranging in period from the Middle Bronze to the Roman period. - (SB.0620)   « Less

Origin: Middle East Circa: 1900 BC to 600 BC Medium: Carnelian-Quartz Necklace composed of antique carnelian, rose quartz, and faience beads from the Bronze Age through  More »

Origin: Middle East Circa: 1900 BC to 600 BC Medium: Carnelian-Quartz Necklace composed of antique carnelian, rose quartz, and faience beads from the Bronze Age through the Iron Age. The love of ornament is as old as civilization itself. By wearing jewelry that is unusual or unique, we define ourselves as individuals and set ourselves apart from the crowd. Throughout antiquity, in every great culture, beads were formed from colored gems, glass, ceramic, shell, bone and metal in an endless variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes they were worn for their magical or curative powers, at other times simply for their beauty. They were worn by people, highborn and low, the citizen of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Judea, Greece, Rome and Byzantium. Frequently these jewels, so prized in life, were buried with their owners to adorn them through eternity. When we wear them today, we add another chapter to their long and fascinating history. - (SB.0663)   « Less

In the Israel of Biblical times, this elegant vessel might have held ointments or perfumes, or perhaps an offering of wine or honey. Or perhaps it held sauces or condiments  More »

In the Israel of Biblical times, this elegant vessel might have held ointments or perfumes, or perhaps an offering of wine or honey. Or perhaps it held sauces or condiments to delight the palate and spruce up an otherwise humble meal for a shepherd.The functional simplicity of this vessel lends it a timeless elegance that appeals to contemporary tastes as much as it surely did to ancient ones. Even after the passage of millennia, the design of such a jug could hardly be improved upon. What did it once contain, we wonder, and who held this bowl? Did those ancient people stop, as we do, to admire the grace of the vessel as they held it in their hands? We feel in its presence a direct bond with those long-forgotten individuals. - (SP.314)   « Less