An Egyptian Carnelian, Red Jasper and Gold Bead Necklace, late 18th Dynasty, ca. 1350 - 1295 BCE

Many New Kingdom bead types are based on flowers or their buds. These elements are found in single strands of beads as well as broad collars, although flowers as components of broad collars seem to be most common after Hatshepsut's time. Two of the most popular floral beads depict the buds of poppies and of cornflowers, such as this lovely necklace. Hand-carved from carnelian, a stone believed to hold magical powers, or red jasper, a stone considered par excellence by the Egyptians, these flowers were staples of the Egyptian garden and were used to fashion fresh bouquets for shrines and floral broad collars. This rare gold and carnelian necklace consists of tiny gold beads interspersed with red and orange carnelian poppy beads. The Egyptian name for red jasper is khenmet, to delight, linking the positive aspects of red with connotations of energy, dynamism, power, and even life itself. They believed carnelian was endowed with magical powers; it caused the blood to circulate smoothly th