Bead with Bearded Male Head
Bead with Bearded Male Head
Place of OriginLikely Syria, Lebanon, or Israel/Palestine
DateLate 6th - 3rd century BCE
DimensionsH: 1 1/8 in. (3 cm); W: 25/32 in. (2.0 cm); Depth: 11/16 in. (1.7 cm)
MediumGlass, rod-formed, tooled and applied features and suspension ring
ClassificationJewelry
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1976.57
Not on View
DescriptionPendant in the likeness of a bearded male head. Dark ground (appearing black) with an opaque white face; black pointed beard, eyebrows, and hair; vestiges of a black vertical suspension ring; opaque white ears with opaque yellow rings in the earlobes; opaque yellow lips; opaque white eyes outlined in black with black centers. Cylindrical shape.
Label TextThese intricate glass pendants, produced centuries before the invention of glassblowing, demonstrate the skill of Phoenician artisans in the Eastern Mediterranean. Using a technique called rod-forming, glassmakers wound hot threads of colored glass around a metal core to sculpt minute details, such as the beard of a male head or the horns of a ram. The staring eyes and vibrant yellows and blues were not merely decorative; these objects functioned as apotropaic amulets, worn to ward off the "evil eye" and protect the wearer from misfortune. This specific group (1923.354A-S, 1976.54-1976.60) constitutes one of the most significant collections of its kind in the United States. Acquired from the Thomas E. H. Curtis collection, these pendants were identified by scholar Monique Seefried as originating primarily from the Syro-Palestinian coast (modern Lebanon and Israel) rather than Carthage (with the possible exception of 1976.56).Published ReferencesSeefried, Monique, "Les pendentifs en verre...du musée national du Bardo et du musée national de Carthage," Karthago, XVII, 1976, pp. 37-66.
Seefried, Monique, "Les premiers bijoux des verriers antiques," Connaissance des Arts, no. 292, June 1976, pp. 44-49.
Gläser der Antike, Sammlung Oppenländer, ed. Axel von Saldern et al., Hamburg, 1974, pp. 82-84.
Grose, David, "Ancient Glass," Toledo Museum of Art News, vol. 20, no. 3, 1978, p. 69, 72, repr. fig. 6.
Grose, David, 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, 1989, p. 88, cat. no. 40.
Markoe, Glenn, "A nation of artisans," Archaeology, vol. 43, no. 2, Mar/Apr. 1990, p. 32, repr.
Page, Jutta-Annette, "Glass as Jewels: An Uneasy Relationship", in GlassWear: Glass in Contemporary Jewelry, Stuttgart, Arnoldsche, 2007, p. 49, fig. 2, p. 50 (col.).
Tait, Hugh, ed., 5000 Years of Glass, London, The British Museum Press, 2012, fig. 16, p. 240.
Late 6th-3rd century BCE
5th or 4th century BCE
6th through 5th century BCE (possibly modern)
Late 7th through 5th century BCE
Late 7th through 5th century BCE
6th through 5th century BCE
6th-5th century BCE
Late 6th-5th century BCE
3rd century BCE
3rd century BCE
3rd century BCE
3rd century BCE
Membership
Become a TMA member today
Support TMA
Help support the TMA mission