- Museum number
- EA37532
- Description
-
Diadem: composed of chips of turquoise, garnet, gold and malachite. The beads are arranged in ten sections. Five sections consist of a single string of stone beads and chips and these sections alternate with four sections consisting of four strings threaded entirely with minute gold beads. On one end there is a loop of gold beads. The beads and chips of stone on the single string sections between the gold beads are arranged generally in the following order: turquoise, garnet, turquoise, but include beads and chips of malachite among the turquoise beads. There is an extra section of garnet beads at each end of the diadem. The gold beads are made from very narrow strips of metal turned up into rings. A few of these rings are soldered. Apart from the uneven chips of stone there are turquoise cylindrical disc beads, garnet cylindrical, truncated convex bicone and barrel beads and malachite cylindrical disc beads.
- Production date
- 3300BC (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 31.50 centimetres
-
Weight: 0.009 kilograms
-
Width: 3 centimetres
-
Depth: 0.60 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- This diadem was found still adhering to the head of the woman to whom it belonged. Frankfort (in 'Journal of Egyptian Archaeology' 16) remarks: 'At the back of the head there had been the string only, which disappeared under the tresses; the beaded part in front went from ear to ear, and seemed to hold a piece of cloth like a veil over the face of the woman.'
Bibliography:
'Journal of Egyptian Archaeology' 16 (1930), 214; pl.XXX, 1;
Egypt Exploration Society, 'Exhibition of Antiquities from Abydos and Tell el-Armana 1925-6. Exhibited at the Rooms of the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, July 5th-24th, 1926' (London, 1926), 8, group IIIA;
'British Museum Quarterly' I (London, 1926), 65; pl.XXXVa;
The British Museum, 'Jewellery through 7000 years' [exhibition catalogue] (London, 1976), no. 6;
M. Vilímková, ‘Egyptian Jewellery’ (London, 1969), 10, n. 8;
A. Wilkinson, 'Ancient Egyptian Jewellery' (London, 1971), 11;
C. Andrews, 'Ancient Egyptian Jewellery', (London, 1990), p.43, pl.31;
'Egyptian treasures from the British Museum' [exhibition catalogue] (Shanghai, 1999), p.266-7 No 82;
C. Andrews, 'Egyptian treasures from the British Museum' [exhibition catalogue, (2000), p.276, Cat.no.87.
Nicholson and Shaw, Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology (Cambridge 2000), p. 32, 44.
- Location
- On display (G64/dc3)
- Condition
- good
- Acquisition date
- 1926
- Department
- Egypt and Sudan
- BM/Big number
- EA37532
- Registration number
- 1926,0728.16
