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Name:

Ancient Etched Carnelian Barrels with Gold Tubes


Collection:

Carnelian


Material:

Carnelian, 20k gold


Size:

The necklace is 20 ½ inches (52 cm) in length. The necklace weighs 34.4 gm.


Price:

$4,000.00


 

 

Description

 

A necklace of fourteen closely matched etched carnelian long barrel shaped beads alternating with fifteen small etched carnelian barrel beads. All beads are separated by 20k gold short tube beads. The long beads are striped, twelve have five stripes, the two longest beads have six. All the short beads have one stripe (except one which has a double zigzag, and one which has a white area on only one side). The short barrels graduate in size from the front to the back of the necklace. The largest is 7.7 mm in length, 6 mm in width at the center and 3.8 mm in width at the ends. The drill hole diameter is 1.8 mm. The smallest is 5.2 mm in length, 4 mm in width with a drill hole diameter just under 1 mm. Its opposite number on the other side has been capped to hide a broken end. The largest etched carnelian bead is 2.2 cm in length, 9 mm in width at the center and 4 mm in width at the ends. The drill hole diameter is 1.8 mm. Most of the longer beads are 1.75cm- 1.85cm in length, the shortest is 1.6cm. The etched carnelian beads are probably from the middle period from India and what is now present day Pakistan which would make them about two thousand years old. Horace Beck attributed the specimens known to him to three main periods: Early (before 2000 BC), Middle (300 BC to 200 AD), and Late (600 to 1000 AD). Francis has expanded and revised this dating as follows: Early (2700 BC to 1800 BC), Middle (550 BC to 200 AD), and Late (224 to 642 AD). The gold tube beads, the beading tips and the hook and eye clasp are all 20k gold.