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Necklace

Place of OriginAsiatic, probably from Mesopotamia
Dateabout 2300 BCE
DimensionsL of necklace: 16 23/32 in. (42.5 cm); L of necklace with modern clasps: 17 29/32 in. (45.5 cm); L of a snake bead: 2 27/32 in. (7.2 cm); L of largest lapis bead: 1 31/32 in. (5 cm)
MediumGold and lapis lazuli
ClassificationJewelry
Credit LineGift of Thomas T. Solley
Object number
1991.109
Not on View
Label TextThe earliest example of jewelry in the Museum’s collection, this precious necklace not only adorned its owner, but it was perhaps meant to be a talisman for fertility as well. Jewelry was worn by both men and women and was also placed on statues and idols. The lavish blue stone lapis lazuli was not found locally, but imported from lands farther to the east (in what is now Afghanistan). The pendants in the shape of lotus buds resemble Egyptian ornament, though the lotus was also important in other ancient cultures. The golden snakes are characteristic Mesopotamian motifs.Comparative ReferencesSee also Needler, W., Jewellery of the Ancient Near East, Toronto, 1966, p. 4.

cf. Maxwell-Hyslop, K.R., Western Asiatic Jewellery c. 3000-612 B.C., London, 1971, p. lxiv, l, 10, 30.

cf. Jewellery THrough 7,000 Years, London, The British Museum, 1976, p. 39.

cf. Tait, H. (ed.), Seven Thousand Years of Jewellery, London, The British Museum, 1986, p. 25.

cf. Kawami, T., Jewels of the Ancients: Selections from the Jill Sackler Collection of Ancient Near Eastern Jewellery, London, Royal Academy of Arts exhibition, May-June 1987, p. 1, no. 1.

Carter, Gough & Company
about 1900-1905
Scarab with Throne Name of Ramesses II
19th Dynasty (1292–1189 BCE)
Head of a Worshipper
Early Dynastic Period II-III, about 2600 BCE
Box
Jean Puiforcat
about 1928
Seated Buddha
about 1450
Necklace
330-200 BCE
Grape Necklace
Louis Comfort Tiffany
about 1912
Maquette for a Snake Necklace
Boucheron Jewellers
1855

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