Altes Ägypten, Griechisch-römische Zeit Ring mit Fayence und Melonenglasperle

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Ring with Egyptian multicoloured faience beads and a central blue glass melon bead. The authentic ancient beads are set on a new gold-plated ring and are free to rotate (swivel).

Outside diameter: ± 22,9 mm
Inside diameter: ± 19,8 - 17,1 mm
Diameter beads: ± 7,6 mm maximum

Condition: good condition and wearable. The ancient beads are restrung and combined with modern gold-plated spacer beads and fittings. Signs of wear consistent with age and use. See images.

Ancient beads:
All authentic ancient beads are slightly different in shape or colour shade and show different signs of wear or iridescence. This adds to the charm of each piece and makes every composition unique.

Certificate of Authenticity available upon request (pdf-document).


FAIENCE
Faience was very popular and widely used in ancient Egypt. The earliest evidence of faience production was discovered in a 7500 years old workshop near the temple in Abydos. The production and style of faience changed through Egyptian history.

Different colourants were used for aesthetic and symbolic purposes, or to imitate the more expensive and rare semi-precious gemstones like turquoise, carnelian, lapis lazuli, garnets or obsidian. Egyptians believed that faience in the colour of gemstones had the same properties. Red had protective powers, dark lapis blue gave strength, courage and wisdom, bright turquoise was associated with fertility and offered protection to the wearer.

As faience was more available than semi-precious gemstones it became a popular and widely used material for small objects like scarabs and other forms of amulets, beads, jewellery, small size statuettes, cosmetic vessels and ritual objects.

In ancient Egypt, faience objects were seen as magical, reflecting the eternal shimmer of the sun and infused with the powers of rebirth and sparkle with the brilliance of eternity.

ANCIENT GLASS
Glass has always been found in nature, but the humans first created glass about 4.000 years ago. when ancient craftsmen in Mesopotamia discovered the art of mixing sand, soda and lime to make glass.
For centuries, glass was a luxury item and reserved for the upper classes.

Glassmaking centers around the Mediterranean world experimented with new techniques (casting, core-forming, mosaic glass) and with colours by adding metallic oxides (cobalt, copper, etc) to the mixture.

The Romans learned the glass-making craft after the conquest of Egypt in the 1st century BC. During the 1st century AD the glassblowing technique revolutionized the production and made it possible to produce larger quantities. By adding manganese dioxide Roman glassmakers successfully produced colourless or ‘aqua’ glass for the first time.

Roman glass became a very popular material, used for beads, glass windows, mosaic tiles, tableware pieces etc. Roman glass was traded all over the Roman Empire and far beyond to Central Africa, Scandinavia and via the Silk Route to China.