EGYPTIAN JEWELRY
ITEM# AB1020
Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Necklace,                                            
               Late Dynastic Period, CA 1085-343 BCE
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Item #AB1020 Late Dynastic Period, CA 1085-343 BCE $145
These ancient Faience beads date from Egypt’s Late Dynastic Period, approximately the 21st to 30th Dynasties. They are a combination of tubular and disc beads in a wide variety of colors and tones. The necklace terminates in a beautifully detailed Eye of Horus amulet dating from about the 26th Dynasty, 664-525-BCE.  Horus was the falcon headed God, son of Isis and Osiris, credited with healing properties. These beads have been strung for wearing, to a length of about 18 inches, plus the clasp,   using modern materials and sterling clasp. Guaranteed ancient as described.
Faience
   Faience, a ceramic formed from a mixture of sand and quartz with additives for color, is considered to be the forerunner of true glass. It was used to produce beads for jewelry, as well as votive and utilitarian items. During firing, the added impurities migrated to the surface, creating the durable glaze and producing the beautiful colors it is so prized for. Large amounts of faience items were produced for funerary use as well, to accompany the departed into the afterlife. The greatest number of   Egyptian beads were made of Faience, an inexpensive alternative to the precious stones they emulated, such as turquoise and lapis. Possibly invented in either  Mesopotamia or Egypt, by 4000 BCE, Faience was  the first mass produced synthetic material to simulate precious stones. The development of Faience, and eventually glass, satisfied the desire of the general populace to wear beads that emulated the precious stones of the wealthy.