Ancient Bacrian Black and White Banded Agate Beads on 18-inch Strand
SKU: GMO-704
Sale price
$495.00
Shipping calculated at checkout
Only 1 in stock
Description
- Ancient (2200-1700 BC) Bactrian Bronze Age black & white banded agate beads on 18-inch strand plus a very sweet pendant, that beautifully showcases banded agate patterns.
- The other beads, mostly round and oval, rang2 from 12x8mm to tiny 4x2mm beads, each cut to dilplay the characteristic black and white bands.
- These beads have long been popular throughout Central Asia and into India where they seem to have originated. They'd carried various names including Babagoria (preferred by Jamey Allen) which combines the Gujarati words for holy man and bead, while Sulemani also used in India, connects them to the Islamic community, especially Sufis.
- The bronze age Bactrian civilization occupied a mountainous region in norther Afghanistan where these beads were collected by an American mining engineer who worked there for several years in the 1950s.
- He bought the loose beads and had them strung by local villagers. Returning to Colorado when he retired, he had the the beads dated and authenticated at the Denver Museum of Natural History. I bought them from him around 20 years ago.
- I am posting several strands, each one unique.
- I'm grouping them with the Ancient Glass to make them easier for collectors to find. They are also posted in the Gemstones Collection.