Beads
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
The Sumerian culture in Iraq, established in the third millennium b.c., was one of the world’s earliest civilizations. It reached a height of luxury known to us primarily through the elegantly crafted jewelry found in the tombs of its rulers. The ornaments exhibited here include two finger rings and two pairs of earrings in gold, and beads fashioned in gold and semiprecious stones. The beads have been restrung in modern times. Originally, they belonged to elaborate necklaces, which were often so large that their strands had to be held apart by separators. A separator on the smallest strand here consists of four attached tubes in gold (no. 3). The large round bead in lapis lazuli, with a gold cap, was the head of an ornamental pin in silver; traces of silver remain in the hole (no. 4).
MEDIUM
Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian on modern string
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS
- Possible place made: Iraq
- Possible place made: Syria
DATES
ca. 2600–2500 B.C.E.
PERIOD
early Dynastic IIIA Period
DIMENSIONS
Overall length: 3 1/8 in. (8 cm)
as mounted: 3 1/2 × 2 1/2 × 1/2 in. (8.9 × 6.4 × 1.3 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
1999.109.3
CREDIT LINE
Purchased with funds given by Shelby White
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Sumerian. Beads, ca. 2600–2500 B.C.E. Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian on modern string
, Overall length: 3 1/8 in. (8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 1999.109.3. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 1999.109.1_1999.109.2_1999.109.3_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
group, 1999.109.1_1999.109.2_1999.109.3_PS2.jpg.
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a
Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online
application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the
United States Library of Congress,
Cornell University,
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and
Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our
blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact
copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.
Where did the museum find this jewelry and how many people do you think wore them?
Like much of the finest ancient art, this jewelry likely comes from a Sumerian tomb. Pieces like these made of such precious materials would have belonged to elite--even royal--members of society. We don't know how many hands they may have passed through before being buried though.
Who would wear this piece of jewelry?
These necklaces come from Sumerian tombs, but include materials that had been imported from other regions such as modern day Afghanistan. Therefore such pieces were expensive and would only have belonged to elite members of society.
How do you pronounce lapis lazuli?
The 'a' in "lapis" sounds like the 'a' in "apple" and the 'i' is short. The same 'a' sound is used in "lazuli," the 'u' is like 'oo' and it ends in a long 'i'.
Thanks!
