Bead with Bearded Male Head

Place of OriginLikely Syria, Lebanon, or Israel/Palestine

DateLate 6th-3rd century BCE

DimensionsLength: 1 in. (2.5 cm); Width: 9/16 in. (1.4 cm); Depth; 1/2 in. (1.3 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

1976.59

Not on View

DescriptionSmall pendant in the likeness of a bearded male head. Dark blue ground with an opaque yellow face; dark blue rounded beard and vertical suspension ring; diagonally twisted dark blue and opaque white headband; ears with upper sections in opaque yellow, lower sections in opaque white; opaque white lips; opaque white eyes with dark blue 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 ReferencesGrose, 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, New York, 1989, p. 88, cat. no. 42.