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LOT 0830
Roman Green Glass Bead Necklace String
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D. AND LATER
15 3/8 in. (19 grams, 39 cm).
Composed of graduated cylindrical beads with a conical pendant bead at the centre; restrung. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the London, UK, art market in the 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
For similar green Roman beads see Then-Obluska, J., ‘Beads and pendants from the Hellenistic to early Byzantine Red Sea port of Berenike, Egypt, Seasons 2014 and 2015’ in Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 27/1, 2018, pp.203–234, figs.3a, 4,5,7.
FootnotesIn the Roman period there was a strong formal and chromatic diversity of glass beads used for necklaces and bracelets. The most common beads in forms were small biconical (lenticular), barrel-shaped, spherical and annular; the most common colours were dark blue, followed by green and yellow. The succession of glass beads often imitates jewellery made of costly materials (gold, silver, semi-precious and precious stones).
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Terracotta Forger's Casting Mould
4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Discoid clay mould with incuse design of a coin to each face. 4.22 grams, 27 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Roman Redware Bowl with Wide Rim
Central Gaul, 3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Squat and shallow with curved rim, old pencilled notation '[....] Alfriston, E. Sussex'. 287 grams, 16.5 cm
From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990. Property of an Essex lady until the late 1990s; thence by descent. From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Roman Blue Glass Bead Necklace String
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £91
Composed of graduated oblate, annular and other beads, central feature a large re-used mosaic glass fragment. 19.86 grams, 42.7 cm
From the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Such necklaces testify to the popularity of glass ornaments across the Roman Empire. Roman jewellery at first followed trends set by the Etruscans, using gold and glass beads, but with the extension of the Empire and the adoption of different styles from Greece, Egypt and North Africa, jewellery designs became increasingly various and elaborate. Each bead of this beautiful necklace is unique in shape, lustre and speckling, creating a mosaic like impression. Blue glass beads are distinguished by the scholars as opaque mid-blue and deep translucent cobalt blue.
