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LOT 1164
Western Asiatic Stone and Other Bead Collection
CIRCA 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C. AND LATER
1/8 - 5/8 in. (15.5 grams total, 2-15 mm).
Composed of graduated beads of various types of white stone, rock crystal, glass, coral and shell. [150, No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK gallery, early 2000s.
LiteratureCf. Hussein, M.M., Altaweel, M., Gibson, McGuire, Nimrud The Queen’s Tombs, Baghdad-Chicago, 2016, pls.163 and 164, for similar bead necklaces made of a mixture of stones, included faience.
FootnotesSimilar beads were found during the excavations of the royal tombs of Nimrud. Thousands of beads were discovered in the sarcophagi, including those of Nimrud’s Queens; they probably originally formed part of wide collars with multiple strands.
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