Poppy-Bead Necklace
Poppy-Bead Necklace
Place of OriginEgypt, Akhetaten (modern Tell el-Amarna)
Date18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE), about 1350 BCE
Dimensionsoverall: 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm)
MediumCarnelian
ClassificationUtilitarian Objects
Credit LineGift of the Egypt Exploration Society
Object number
1925.766
Not on View
DescriptionNecklace composed of 43 carnelian beads with a central one in the shape of a poppy bud. Restrung in modern times with 1915.131.
Label TextThis necklace consists of forty-three carnelian beads, several of which are shaped like flower buds—likely representing poppies or cornflowers. Both flowers were common in ancient Egyptian gardens and carried symbolic associations with beauty, rebirth, and ritual offerings. Floral bead forms were especially popular during the New Kingdom, when this necklace was likely made. The beads were excavated at the ancient city of Amarna, the capital founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten in the 14th century BCE, during the 1923–1924 excavation season led by the Egypt Exploration Society. Through the Society’s official division of finds, the beads were allocated to the Toledo Museum of Art in 1925. At some point after their arrival, the necklace was restrung together with a separate group of beads acquired earlier (accession 1915.131) to create a visually appealing presentation. The current strand does not replicate an original ancient composition, but reflects a modern display strategy for exhibition.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.25th–31st Dynasties (747–332 BCE)
6th Dynasty (2345–2181 BCE)
18th–19th Dynasties (1550–1189 BCE)
1920s-1930s
Roman Period, 1st-4th century CE
Probably Late Helladic III, about the 14th-12th century BCE
19th–30th Dynasties (1292–343 BCE)
2nd Millennium BCE
1st-4th century CE
mid 19th-late 19th Century
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