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Earrings in Form of Ducks

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
Jewelry

Glass and faience were both difficult materials for making jewelry.


Eighteenth Dynasty artisans frequently created glass reproductions of traditional metal and stone forms. These early glassworkers, still perfecting their skills, often reduced intricate details like inscriptions to simple lines.

Late Eighteenth Dynasty faiencemanufacturers produced mold-made rings inscribed with royal names. Because these pieces were too fragile to have been worn, they were most likely distributed as royal keepsakes at state occasions.
MEDIUM Glass
  • Place Made: Egypt
  • DATES ca. 1390–1292 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Dynasty 18
    PERIOD New Kingdom
    DIMENSIONS 7/8 x 1 1/4 in. (2.3 x 3.2 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 50.92a-b
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Michel Abemayor
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Pair of earrings in the form of standing ducks with heads turned backwards. Bodies of opaque red glass imitating jasper. Legs apparently of limestone attached to bodies with dark green substance. Underside of necks grooved, apparently to receive small bars to which suspension loops presumably attached. Condition: Both specimens broken at neck and mended.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
    CAPTION Earrings in Form of Ducks, ca. 1390–1292 B.C.E. Glass, 7/8 x 1 1/4 in. (2.3 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Michel Abemayor, 50.92a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.92a-b_erg456.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, CUR.50.92a-b_erg456.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 9/5/2007
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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