Bottle Bead Necklace

Bottle Bead Necklace

jewelry, necklace

1539-1077 BC

New Kingdom

Egypt

Egyptian

Carnelian

10 x 1/2 in. (25.4 x 1.3 cm)

2005.045.001

While we may think of Egyptian jewelry and amulets as two distinct categories, the overlap between the two groups is significant. The materials and forms used for amulets were frequently used for jewelry and therefore many pieces of jewelry shared the protective purpose of amulets. In this striking carnelian necklace, small spherical beads are interspersed with larger graduated bottle-shaped beads. There is scholarly debate over the identification of these bottle-shaped elements with some scholars suggesting poppy pods and others suggesting cornflowers. While each identification may suggest slightly different associations, both would have been common in an Egyptian garden and were used for ritual bouquets. It is likely they were used both for decorative reasons and their general association with fertility and bounty. Carnelian was a popular stone in Egypt, used for amulets and jewelry. Mined in Nubia and the Eastern Desert, the mineral's red or orange color had dual meanings. Red was the color of blood and therefore associated with power and vitality, however red was also associated with the threatening god Seth because of its affinity with the chaotic red lands of the untamed desert.

Egyptian Purchase Fund

From Pharaohs to Emperors: New Egyptian and Classical Antiquities at Emory, 01/14/2006 - 04/02/2006.
MCCM Permanent Collection Gallery, 2006-present.

© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Bruce M. White, 2005.

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