A Near Eastern Red Jasper Bead Pendant, Roman Imperial Period, ca. 1st - 2nd century CE Medium - Textile ” Portions of the collection

” Portions of the collection were exhibited and published in connection with Folk Traditions in Japanese Art (1978) and later donated to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M

A very elegant necklace comprised of alternating marbled lapis lazuli lotus beads and small gold plated spacers

A large and lovely example

rendered in a characteristic two-tone slip with traces of black mineral deposits from long burial

with a protruding tongue and the ears and mane of a lion

A Near Eastern Red Jasper Bead Pendant, Roman Imperial Period, ca. 1st - 2nd century CE Medium - Textile ” Portions of the collectionThe thick barrel bead is hand carved from warm red jasper with darker mineral veining, which adds visual movement across the surface. The proportions are gently elongated, with slightly tapering ends, a profile typical of Imperial period stone beads intended for suspension as a central element within a necklace rather than as a spacer. Red jasper has been a highly prized and revered mineral in almost all ancient cultures, from ancient Egypt and