Biconical Gold Bead

Description This large biconical gold bead (along with Walters 57.452) was worked first in repousssé and then chased, using a hammer, chisel, and punches on the sheet metal to create an etched or engraved effect. The beads were probably strung with similar ones of slightly varying sizes to create a choker or a long necklace.

Exhibitions

• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.
• Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2006-2009.
• Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. 2010.

Provenance Yugoslavian treasure (?); Joseph Brummer [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters