Glass pendant in the form of a bird

Greek, possibly Rhodian

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171

Translucent purple.
Shaped like a stylized bird, with large hole horizontally through body from side to side; jagged edge to hole on proper left side of bird; tooled to form head and flattened tail.
Intact; pitting of surface bubbles, some dulling and iridescence, and encrustation within hole.

Numerous examples of this type of bead, shaped like a stylized dove, are known from Camiros on the island of Rhodes, but others have also been found at sites in Italy, especially in Etruria. Therefore, they may be seen as representative of the small luxury items that were traded between the eastern and western Mediterranean in the Orientalizing Period.

Glass pendant in the form of a bird, Glass, Greek, possibly Rhodian

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