This unusual necklace brings together amber and
faience, two of the ornaments most prized by the
ancients. Faience, a glass composite glaze, was
introduced in Egypt as early as the pre-Dynastic
period. Beads of various sizes and shapes were
formed from clay, coated with faience paste and then
fired to bright colors. The majority of beads were in
shades of blue or green, but red, yellow and black
were also popular. In the art of Egypt’s golden age,
beautiful women are shown adorned with strand after
strand of faience beads. Very often, such jewelry was
buried in tombs to bring pleasure through eternity. In
this lovely necklace, the beads certainly fulfill their
promise. Amber, the fossilized resin of extinct trees,
is one of the oldest gems known to mankind. Its use
as an amulet or for jewelry stretches back to the
Stone Age. It was traded throughout the ancient
world along routes that led from the north to the
palaces of Crete, Egypt and Babylon. Homer
mentions amber in the Odyssey. In color, amber
varies in hue from pale yellow, to honey brown, to
deep orange, to red. Combined here with Egyptian
faience, amber helps create a jewel that the Queen of
Sheba, Nefertiti or Helen of Troy might have worn
with pride.
- (FJ.4455)
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