Re: Is this an Islamic Era bead mounted as a pendant?
Re: Is this an Islamic Era bead mounted as a pendant? -- Frederick II Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: stefany Post Reply
04/28/2017, 16:41:11

well, could be earlier...
in the early '90s there was a huge important auction at Christies in London of the "Per Neb collection" of antiquities mostly from ancient Egypt. i only heard about it after it had happened, and i got the catalogue.
among the items illustrated were millefiori glass fragments, face beads and a set of items like this disc, which fetched a very high price. i found the stories of Constantine who had this symbol in a vision just before he conquered Turkey- he understood it to be a christian symbol= the cross and 4 loaves, and vowed that if he won that battle he would convert to christianity. so he did and he did; its called the cross of Constantine. but it was Gabrielle Liese who explained to me these flattened discs with a sizeable central hole were used to fasten garments in those earliest Byzantine christian times.
now you may be able to find this information online.
converting this one into a necklace centrepiece may have been done without the craftsperson having any knowledge of its specialness. the metal isn't gold.
all these discoveries are part of the thrill of rummaging in less likely places and finding "treasure"
that we recognise because of our shared researches here and with other bead friends.



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