Lot 264

Sumerian Steatite & Faience Bead Necklaces - Seven Strands

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Lot 264
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Sumerian Steatite & Faience Bead Necklaces - Seven Strands
Sumerian Steatite & Faience Bead Necklaces - Seven Strands
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Sumerian Steatite & Faience Bead Necklaces - Seven Strands

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Current Bid: $400

(1 Bid)
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Near East, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, ca. 3000–2000 BCE. A suite of seven necklaces strung with hundreds of ancient disc beads, their alternating bands of soft dove gray and chalk white producing a rhythmic, almost typographic cadence across each strand. The beads, hand-shaped from steatite and faience, retain the gentle irregularities of early lapidary work: each disc was ground, perforated, and polished by hand, the boreholes worn smooth by millennia of contact with cord. Steatite, prized in early Mesopotamia for its softness and willingness to be carved, was often fired or glazed to harden its surface, while faience, a self-glazing siliceous paste, lent the strands their cooler, more luminous whites. Bead jewelry of this kind adorned the necks, wrists, and headdresses of Sumerian women and men alike, from temple personnel and palace retainers to the celebrated burials of Ur, where Queen Puabi's entourage descended into the earth swathed in similar ornament. Whether worn as a marker of status, an offering, or a quietly potent amulet, such beads carried the dual charge of beauty and protection. The ancient elements have been restrung on seven modern cords so that the ornament may once again be worn, an unbroken thread linking the wearer to the earliest urban civilization of the Tigris and Euphrates. Size of largest bead: 0.2" D x 0.2" H (0.5 cm D x 0.5 cm H); of longest strand: 21.5" L (54.6 cm L).

Provenance: Collection of Y. Kayvan, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired from a Los Angeles, California, USA gallery acquisition dates range from the late 1990s to 2005

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Item # 203215

  • Condition: Very Good. Ancient beads strung on modern strands to be wearable. Some nicks, small chips, and abrasions to beads, but, otherwise, all very nice with good remaining pigments and forms.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000