Beads with ivy-leaf patterns
Culture: Mycenaean
Period: Late Helladic III
Date: ca. 1400-1300 B.C.
Medium: Glass
Dimensions:
a: 1 7/16 × 1 in. (3.6 × 2.5 cm)
b: 1 5/16 × 13/16 in. (3.3 × 2 cm)
c: 1 1/16 × 13/16 in. (2.7 × 2.1 cm)
d: 1 5/16 × 1 1/8 in. (3.4 × 2.8 cm)
e: 1 1/4 × 13/16 in. (3.2 × 2 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Marie Smith Schwartz
Object number: 89.74.1.a-e
Provenance: Ernst Kofler and Marta Truniger, Lucerne, by 1956; Christie's, London, March 5-6, 1985, lot 285; sold by Robin Symes, London, to San Antonio Museum of Art, 1989
Label Text
Worn by wealthy Mycenaeans, beads or plaques like these could be strung on a necklace or attached to diadems or garments. The dark blue glass, which has weathered to white on several of the plaques, was cast in stone molds to create the pattern of ivy leaves in relief. Analysis of similar beads has found that the blue glass was produced in Egypt and then shipped to Mycenaean sites, including Mycenae and Knossos, where the beads were manufactured. (J. Powers, 2017)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
