LOT 0110

Greek Turquoise Bead Necklace with Gold Beads

HELLENISTIC, CIRCA 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.

21 7/8 in. (72 grams, 55.5 cm).

Composed of twenty-nine oval turquoise beads and four bicone sheet-gold beads with granulation, decorated with spirals and vertical lines, with beaded wire collars and equator, with later openwork clasp.

Acquired on European art market, 1990s.
Private collection of Mr K.A., France.
with Kallos Gallery, London, UK.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13011-246750.

See for similar gold beads in Williams, D., Ogden, J., Greek gold, the jewellery of the Classical World, London-New York, 1994, p.100-101.

The use of turquoise and carnelian cloisonné inlay would be more expected in the Ptolemaic or earlier periods than from the Roman period. However, the love of coloured stones increased during the Roman period. In about A.D. 200, Clement said that 'the stones which silly women wear fastened to chains and set in necklaces' included emerald, amethyst, peridot, jasper and ceraunites. Clement's list of stones is closely paralleled by a tariff list of c. A.D. 200, and a list of jewellery from Spain. Both of these sources also include sapphire (hyacinthus) and callaina, which was probably turquoise.