Images(2)

inlay

Object NameInlay in the Form of a Collar (Pectoral)

Made FromGlass

Dateabout 300-50 BCE

Place MadeEgypt

TechniqueFused, assembled, ground, polished

SizeOverall H: 12.3 cm, W: 16.8 cm, Th: 0.7 cm

Accession Number94.1.1

Curatorial Area(s)

Ancient

Exhibitions

Designs in Miniature: The Story of Mosaic Glass

Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World

On ViewAncient Gallery

Physical DescriptionInlay in the Form of a Collar (Pectoral). Opaque white strips with nine different combinations of opaque colors: (1) black and white in black matrix; (2) red and yellow; (3) white and red in black matrix; (4) black, blue, and yellow in red matrix; (5) black, yellow, and red; (6) white, black, red, and yellow; (7) black and light yellow in red matrix; (8) black and red in yellow matrix; (9) white, yellow, and red; nine different types of mosaic glass strip prepared by fusing slices of preformed canes; mosaic glass strips and plain white strips then assembled in desired pattern so that components fused in one object; upper surface probably finished by grinding and polishing. Collar. Decorated with nine rows of repetitive ornament separated by opaque white strips and with opaque white strip at top and bottom. Rows numbered from inside (top) to outside (bottom): (1) seventeen black and white anthemia (honeysuckle flowers), alternating with sixteen white trefoil-shaped leaves; (2) twenty-eight red and yellow flowers with four petals; (3) twenty-two rosettes, each with eight white petals and red dot at center; (4) fifty-six black, blue, and yellow striking cobras, those on left side of collar face right and those on right side face left; (5) thirty black, yellow, and red rosettes, each with eight yellow petals outlined in black and red dot at center; (6) thirty-three white, black, red, and yellow lotus flowers; (7) twenty-seven rosettes, each with eight light yellow petals outlined in black, and dot at center; (8) fourteen rosettes, each with eight black petals and red dot at center; (9) five groups of three yellow fruits or buds alternating with five groups of three red fruits or buds with white outlines. Upper surface of collar smooth; lower surface irregular, with some junctions of strips plainly visible. Strips vary in length and apparently include: in row (1) one leaf flanked by two half-flowers, (2) four flowers, (3) four rosettes, (4) seven cobras and nine cobras, (5) four and five rosettes, (6) three flowers, (7) four rosettes, (8) three rosettes, and (9) three red and three yellow fruits.
Provenance

Source Emmanuel Tiliakos - 1994-02-01
Alexander Fine Art, Winchester, Massachusetts