Large Strand of Indo-Tibetan Long, Concave, Clear Carnelian Beads

This important, long strand of large, well-matched, clear carnelian beads is exceptionally rare and ancient. Most probably, the beads were for the Indo-Tibetan market, or certainly ended up in that market. Some beads have moss-like banding and others have crystaline whitening to the surface from having been buried for a long time suggesting that some of the beads have archaeological origins.

Most of the beads have cylindrical but concave form, so that they flare towards the ends. This form, which is akin to snake vertebrae, is exceptionally rare among ancient beads, and is particularly difficult to make. The form is suggestive of a rare type of jade beads from ancient China.

Other beads in the strand are oblong; others ae barrel form but with six sides; and then there is the large central spherical bead.

Overall, there are 48 major beads and then two small round beads to secure the strand and knot.

Each bead has been drilled and mostly, the drilling can be seen all the way through each bead when it is held up to the light. This shows that rarely is the drilling in a perfectly straight line as should be expected with ancient beads.

Carnelian beads were produced in north-western India by the time of the emergence of the Indus Valley civilisation (third millennium BC). From there they were traded to the rest of the Indian subcontinent, to the Himalayas, China and Southeast Asia. China and Burma might have been other sources of carnelian.

The beads were valued as luxury trade goods, as status symbols, as offerings at religious sites, and as magical charms and talismans. The carnelian would be heated to make it easier to chip, and was then shaped into crude blanks, and then later further cut, refined and polished. The beads were drilled through their centres to make holes for suspension. Usually, the drilling would be done from each side and would meet in the middle. This meant that for ancient beads, the drilled holes often do not perfectly align.

The beads are threaded onto later stringing. The beads themselves show much wear and age.