Egyptian Necklace with Faience Beads and Mandrake Amulet

£ 225.00

An Ancient Egyptian restrung necklace consisting of a selection of vibrant turquoise faience beads, together with small, flattened round pale black, green and white faience beads, alternating in different combinations. The necklace is centred by a single amuletic bead in the form of a mandrake fruit, believed by the Egyptians to be a plant associated with the concepts of love and desire. The faience beads (excluding the mandrake amulet) come from a collection of beads discovered by Flinders Petrie at Gurob.

Date: Circa 1069-744 BC
Period: Third Intermediate Period
Condition: Excellent condition. The necklace has been finished with a small gold, plated clasp (please be aware that the clasp has not been professionally tied). When folded the necklace measures 22 cm in length.

SOLD

Product Code: ES-86
Category:

Flinders Petrie was a renowned Egyptologist, holding the first Chair of Egyptology within the UK. He is famous for discovering the Merneptah Stele, which details the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah’s victory over the Libyans. The stele is now housed in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. Petrie also excavated significantly at Fayum, especially on burials from the Roman period, which has previously not been excavated. He made significant discoveries here, including the excavation of large numbers of intact burial chambers, which subsequently led to the discovery of the Fayum mummy portraits. He sold much of his collection to UCL (University College London), where it is now housed in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. These particular beads were from an excavation at Gurob, an important palace, town and necropolis located at the entrance to the Fayum. They have been re-strung, the original thread long eroded, into bright turquoise strings of beads.

To discover more about jewellery in the Ancient World, please visit our relevant post: Jewellery in Antiquity.

Dimensions L 22 cm
Faience

Blue Faience, Green Faience, Grey Faience, Red Faience, Turquoise Faience

Region

North Africa

You may also like…