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This is a beautiful example of an Islamic-era "eye" bead, where warding off the evil eye was considered a must. The blue eyes on the light blue background are striking, and this is just a vivid example of the rich eye bead tradition. Each of the eyes is a compound eye with white-blue-white-blue concentric circles. Most likely, the eyes were made separately as a cane, and then cut and pressed into the bead. The fact that several of the eyes are ever so slightly raised supports this theory.
Interestingly, there are several swirls at the top of the bead of a much darker blue (almost teal) color, indicating that the bead maker likely mixed a darker and lighter colored glass to get the light blue color we see today. The bead has no chips or gouges, though it does have many pin-prick holes dotting the bead, which are consistent with either degradation of the glass while buried, or perhaps glass that got too hot when the bead was first made. The white glass in particular has somewhat decayed, appearing almost "rusty" in places. Still, the overall effect of this bead is fabulous -- the blues are vivid, and the translucent eyes are just beautiful. What a great bead -- one of my personal favorites. Dating beads from the Islamic period is difficult, but we estimate this bead was made somewhere in the Middle East between 800 AD and 1400 AD. The bead measures 22.8 mm tall x approximately 24.5 mm in diameter (which is about the diameter or a U.S. quarter or a 2 Euro coin.) NOTE: This item is sold. Price: $0.00 |
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