Artwork Page for String of Glass Beads

Details / Information for String of Glass Beads

String of Glass Beads

구슬 목걸이 [瑠璃玉頸飾]

400s CE

Korea, Three Kingdoms period

(57 BCE–668 CE)
Medium
glass
Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1917.1058
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Glass, largely produced in ancient Rome since the late 1st century, also reached the Korean peninsula through the Silk Road, the ancient global trade route. Yet, cobalt blue glass beads shown in this work are highly likely to have been produced in the Silla territory.

Description

An enormous amount of beaded strings and necklaces were excavated from Silla tomb sites. Glass, largely produced in ancient Rome since the late 1st century, also reached the Korean peninsula through the Silk Road, the ancient global trade route. Yet cobalt blue glass beads shown in this string are highly likely to be soda glass produced in the Silla territory.
A circular loop consists of glass beads of varying size and texture. A fine upper arc features uniform turquoise, dark blue, and translucent green beads. The composition transitions into larger, irregular deep blue beads with pitted surfaces along the right and bottom. On the left, a pale cylindrical bead and two muted orange beads provide a chromatic shift, their coarse, organic shapes completing the necklace-like loop against the neutral ground.

String of Glass Beads

400s CE

Korea, Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–668 CE)

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