Happy Christmas, Fred, and everyone,

This tabular bead is decorated with a tree of life on one side, and on the other seven dots within circles, probably referring to the Pleiades. Motifs for wise men certainly.

Cheers,

Will

Hi JRJ,

Thanks. I agree!

A Pakistani friend who's an archaeologist says he would date this bead to the late third millennium BCE. He refers to the deep colour of the carnelian; the carefulness with which the lines have been "etched" onto the surface; the depth of the whlte lines; and the patterns of trees and of dot & circle motifs which are common on the pottery and carved bone artefacts of the time. He may be correct, but these elements survived into later times, too, so I'll be cautious and say it's at least 2,000 years old.

I'll attach a couple of photos - one of a lovely Indus Valley bead, from a site in the United Arab Emirates that is dated to 2,400-2,300 BCE; the other of an Indus Valley jar or vase in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, dated to the third millennium BCE.

It's difficult to know how these etched beads were worn. Other gold and semi-precious beads are excavated on quite elaborate necklaces and bracelets, but etched carnelians almost always seem to be found individually or in very small groups. They were among the most valued items of adornment in the Indus Valley culture, along with the large jasper beads with their elaborate patterns of eyes that the etched lines on the carnelians were intended to imitate.

Best,

Will

Hi Will
As always I enjoy what you mention historical about beads.
These beads are very nice etched carnelian. I was wondering
If we could imagine that tree as Sypres because it has been a
Symbol of long life in ancient time.as you said tree of life.every where
In perspolise we can see that also on seals.and round etched bead with fots
Could be Sun and stars and moon in the center. As worshipping sun has
Been comon in ancient time.i thought secnc sun behind lion has been just
In ancient persia.but I saw that on indian and turkish ancient coins.
Thx for posting nice beads and information
Ali

Merry x mas

Whether it represents the tree of life or long life under the Pleiades or sun, moon and stars it’s positively lyrical! Thank you, Will and Ali, for the information and happy holidays to you!

Thanks, Ali and JRJ.

You may well be right, Ali. Symbols can almost always have different interpretations, and we see in them what we want to see. It's dangerous to dogmatise.

The cypress, as you say, is an important symbol of longevity. But the "tree of life" is frequently more than a single species, as we see in, for instance, the designs in Persian carpets. In Indus Valley culture the most sacred tree is the pipal tree (the bo tree of later Buddhist cultures), with its large shade-giving leaves. Here's an Indus valley clay tablet with a pipal tree on it, which is quite similar to the motif on my carnelian bead.

The other side of the bead may, as you say, be sun and stars and moon (though the moon is most frequently represented in ancient cultures as a crescent). I thought the number seven might be important, and made that association with the Pleiades (of course there are many more stars than seven in the constellation, and ancient observers talked of there being 12 that were visible, but most cultures have myths that talk of seven components - everywhere for seven sisters to seven chicks!).

I'll attach an image of the impression of a beautiful chalcedony cylinder seal that I got recently. It's from the Neo-Assyrian empire (approximatetey 900-600 BCE). it shows, I think, a sacred tree, the Pleiades, a star, a crescent moon, and (possibly?) an altar.

It's nice talking to you, Ali. I hope you have a great holiday.

Will

Will, I'd love to see your chalcedony cylinder seal bead. Seals fascinate me and chalcedony is a favorite material.

Hi Joyce

I'll get the camera out and try again to take a photo of it. I'm terrible with curved surfaces like beads; the flat impression is much easier.

Will

Hi again Joyce,

This gives a vague impression of it. It's okay for cataloguing but it doesn't catch the white clouds that seem to float inside the stone. I need a photographer for Christmas!

Will

Here's a beautiful C19 Kerman carpet with a tree of life.

The Pleiades seem to be on my mind and in my life a lot recently. One of my students, who's Ojibwe, is studying First Nations stories about the Pleiades, and she's discovered some wonderfully varied myths that explain them - as there are in just about every culture around the world. I think these are stories that people tell to each other in order to humanize the immensity of the heavens.

And the car that I drive all winter through the Ontario snowstorms is my trusty Subaru. I only realised recently that Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades. There are six stars in the company logo (the six most visible). But more mundanely it refers to the five Japanese companies that joined together to form the sixth and largest - Fuji Heavy Industries.

Enough mythology. Happy Christmas!

Will

thanks for your time Will .
i am happy that i learned something about ancient India today.
as you see not any more nice beads left. and i have more time for learning.
best wishes
Ali

I think this bead comes from Western Asia rather than Indus Valley and it should be dated to around 500 AD.

This picture remembers me of the bead makers in Ghana, using recycled glass to create beatiful stars.

Now to all of you a very happy X-Mas and a good 2018!

Nel

These were collected one at a time -mostly in Bali- between the years 2000 and 2008.

Early bronze age 3300-2000 BC. Granulated gold beads