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Details
LOT 0918
Roman Mosaic and Other Glass Necklace Bead Group
CIRCA 1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1/4 - 1/2 in. (49 grams total, 7-13 mm).
Comprising thirty glass beads of various sizes, including mosaic beads and some with drawn decoration. [30]
Provenance
UK gallery, early 2000s.
Literature
Cf. Eisen, G., ‘The Characteristics of eye beads from the Earliest Times to Present’ in American Journal of Archaeology, Second Series, Vol.XX (1916), pp.1-27, pl.1 and figs.58-62, for similar
Footnotes
The mass production of glass in Ancient Rome prompted the development of glass jewellery of unique qualities. The ancient Romans considered jewellery to be an essential accessory, being a public display of the wealth of high social classes. Recent excavations have provided better information on the use of glass beads for necklaces and bracelets, and in some case has been possible to understand the exact arrangement of a necklace or other jewellery made of glass. Many of the examples here presented belongs to the so-called category of ‘eye-beads’.
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