Relief Bead with Ivy Leaf Motif

Place of OriginGreece, probably from the Peloponnesos or Crete

Dateabout 1400-1200 BCE

DimensionsL: 1 in. (2.54 cm); W: 7/16 in. (1.2 cm); Depth: 3/16 in. (.5 cm)

MediumCast blue glass

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1975.64

Not on View

DescriptionRectangular blue glass bead with an uneven upper surface. The central motif is a raised, stylized ivy leaf opening to the left, flanked by two raised vertical lines. At the top and bottom are segmented horizontal ridges. Two transverse threadholes are pierced through the short ends for stringing or sewing. Cast in an open, one-piece mold. The bead is intact but exhibits surface pitting, iridescence, and isolated areas of white weathering.

Label TextThis Mycenaean rectangular blue glass bead was made in Late Bronze Age Greece, likely between 1400 and 1200 BCE. Molded in a one-piece stone mold, it features a raised ivy leaf at the center, flanked by vertical lines and framed by segmented ridges. Two threadholes run through the short ends, suggesting it was sewn onto a ceremonial garment or worn as a diadem head ornament.Published ReferencesGrose, David F., Early Ancient Glass: Core-formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B.C. to A.D. 50, New York, Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1989, cat. no. 27, p. 66, repr. (col.) p. 44.