Necklace
ca. 1938–1759 B.C.E.
Object Label
Middle Kingdom Jewelry
Gracious taste, arresting design, and technical mastery of materials characterize Middle Kingdom jewelry.
Jewelers elevated their craft to a level of artistic accomplishment unrivaled in Egyptian history. They refrained from excess, choosing simple, clean forms and understated color patterns. For instance, unlike flamboyant examples from the later New Kingdom, Middle Kingdom necklaces were usually monochromatic and almost never included beads of more than three colors. The most expensive jewelry featured beads made of gold; because it never tarnishes, gold was called the “flesh of the gods” and conveyed immortality.
Jewelers of the Middle Kingdom also relied on certain attractive semiprecious stones that had appeared only sporadically in the Old Kingdom. Red carnelian represented blood’s life-giving properties, and green turquoise symbolized vegetation and fertility and thus resurrection. Purple amethyst and pale blue anhydrite, however, seem to have had no magical powers and were admired solely for their visual appeal.
Gracious taste, arresting design, and technical mastery of materials characterize Middle Kingdom jewelry.
Jewelers elevated their craft to a level of artistic accomplishment unrivaled in Egyptian history. They refrained from excess, choosing simple, clean forms and understated color patterns. For instance, unlike flamboyant examples from the later New Kingdom, Middle Kingdom necklaces were usually monochromatic and almost never included beads of more than three colors. The most expensive jewelry featured beads made of gold; because it never tarnishes, gold was called the “flesh of the gods” and conveyed immortality.
Jewelers of the Middle Kingdom also relied on certain attractive semiprecious stones that had appeared only sporadically in the Old Kingdom. Red carnelian represented blood’s life-giving properties, and green turquoise symbolized vegetation and fertility and thus resurrection. Purple amethyst and pale blue anhydrite, however, seem to have had no magical powers and were admired solely for their visual appeal.
Caption
Necklace, ca. 1938–1759 B.C.E.. Faience, 20 1/4 in. (51.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society , 26.159.
Title
Necklace
Date
ca. 1938–1759 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 12
Period
Middle Kingdom
Geography
Place excavated: Abydos, Egypt
Medium
Faience
Classification
Dimensions
20 1/4 in. (51.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society
Accession Number
26.159
Frequent Art Questions
Tell me more.
One of these two necklaces is also made from faience. The other, the purple one, is made of amethyst, but you can still see faience at the clasps. The material was very common in ancient Egypt.Simple necklaces like there were a common adornment in ancient Egypt for both men and women.Thank you for your help
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