Bead with Crocodiles
750-650 BCE
Description
This elongated, slightly convex bead bears four simplified representations of crocodiles, each facing in the opposite direction from its neighbors. A branch-like motif fills the space between the animals, perhaps indicative of a marsh or similar watery environment. The fierce creatures would have served as apotropaic emblems to ward off actual crocodiles, and may have referred to the crocodile god Sobek. Carved from soft steatite (schist or "soapstone"), the bead was kiln-fired to harden it. Before firing, it was covered in a glaze made from powered quartz and copper, whose originally bluish color has faded to a light brown.
Dimensions
3.5 × 1.5 cm (1 3/8 × 9/16 in.)
Provenance
[Kelekian Associates, New York, (by 1982-1985], sold; to Robert and Sally Huxley, New York (1985-2020), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums.
Related Artworks
View MoreSilver
18th-19th centuryAmericanBronze
8th century BCEGreekFaience
16th-14th century BCEEgyptianBronze
1st millennium BCEIranianSilver
3rd century BCERomanGold
4th century BCEGreekLeaded bronze
3rd century CERomanCopper-tin-antimony alloy
10th-8th century BCEIranianBrass and glass
1st-3rd century CERomanBone
1st-4th century CERomanSilver weave
18th-19th centuryUnidentified culture