String of beads
Middle Kingdom, Dynasty XII 1985 BCE-1773 BCE
Medium
amethyst
Measurements
0.8 × 68.4 × 0.8 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Presented by the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, 1915
Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts - Great Hall Costume Corridor
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Everyone wore jewellery in ancient Egypt: women, men, children, gods and goddesses. It was also buried with people when they died, intended to be worn not just in life but also in the afterlife. Amethyst beads are particular to the Middle Kingdom due to a large deposit ofthe stone having been discovered in the Eastern Desert, near Aswan. The deposit was completely mined during the Middle Kingdom and no further deposits of this stone were discovered in later periods. These semi-precious beads, along with carnelian beads, were fashionable among the elite levels of society.