Description
These ten beads were probably part of a woman's necklace. They are made of thin sheet gold that was cut and folded around a core of pitch (pine resin). Slices of garnet, backed with foil to enhance their brilliance, were inserted into the pitch between the gold frames. This technique of combining gold and foil-backed garnets is characteristic of the Goths of South Russia.
Provenance
Joseph Chmielowski, Ochakov, Ukraine; Joseph Chmielowski Sale, Amercian Art Gallery, New York, February 23-25, 1922, lot 710; Henry Walters, New York, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Sadie Jones (Mrs. Henry Walters), New York, 1931, by inheritance; Mrs. Henry Walters Sale, New York, December 1-4, 1943, lot 537; The Hammer Galleries, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, September 19, 1945, by purchase.