The iconography on this bead suggests an ancient coin, -perhaps with the profile of Alexander the Great with horseback rider on the opposite side. The folded look of the engraved glass suggests Islamic Period.

We do know that the ancient technique of incising or excavating and filling the surface of a bead has become commercially revived during the last five years in Pakistan. In Pakistan, there are many highly skilled refugees from Afghanistan who are replicating geometrically incised carnelian beads and filling them with composition. These highly skilled craftsmen are capable of the sophistication found in this commercially attractive large bead/pendant.

There are many Afghani bead dealers in Bangkok who are clever and ambitious. And they receive incentive from a well established clientele. Because this bead is a singular example, my concern is that it may have been recently made, artificially patinated, and unwittingly resold as "ancient."

Frederick