Necklace

ca. 3980–3865 BCE

Not on view

Although they are now strung together, these beads, made of limestone, frit, bitumen, alabaster and carnelian, were not necessarily part of a single necklace in antiquity. They were certainly objects of personal adornment, however, and they were found together in a man’s grave at Tepe Hissar, near the modern city of Damghan in northern Iran. Tepe Hissar was primarily an agricultural settlement, though much of the evidence for plant cultivation dates to later periods, with buildings made of mudbrick or simply mud walls. The grave dates to the early 4th millennium B.C., which gives us the date for the beads.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Necklace
Period: Chalcolithic
Date: ca. 3980–3865 BCE
Geography: Iran, Tepe Hissar
Culture: Iran
Medium: Gypsum alabaster, carnelian, shell, bitumen
Dimensions: 66.93 in. (170 cm)
Credit Line: Rogers Fund and Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, by exchange, 1957
Object Number: 57.99.21
Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art

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