EGYPTIAN JEWELRY
ITEM#AB1062
Egyptian Faience Necklace, Late Period , CA 1085-343 BCE
AB1062; Late Dynastic Period, CA 1085-343 BCE $170
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, along with unusual double hole beads used for making beaded nets. The necklace is strung in a double loop design and terminates in a beautifully detailed, 1/2 inch wide, double sided Eye of Horus amulet dating from about the 26th Dynasty, CA 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.  It contains about 24 inches of  beads.                                                                     Guaranteed ancient as described.
   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.