Getty Museum

Gold Beads in the Shape of Cowrie Shells

Date

225–175 B.C.

Medium

Gold

Culture

Greek

Department

Jewelry

Institution

Getty Museum

This string of twelve gold beads in the form of cowrie shells linked by gold loops was probably once part of a necklace. The hollow beads were made from two joined pieces of sheet gold with the distinctive lips of the shell carved into the surface. Cowrie shells come from the Indian Ocean and would have been known in Hellenistic Egypt, where this necklace was made. It is part of the [Ensemble of Ptolemaic Jewelry](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/17679/unknown-maker-collection-of-ptolemaic-jewelry-16-greek-225-175-bc/).

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