Ancient Egyptian polychrome faience necklace on dark stone

Egypt · circa 900 BC

Twenty-nine centuries. One living colour.

Discover the piece

Ancient necklace displayed on a black velvet bust

Macro detail of the ancient faience beads

The necklace inside its open Atelier Numen presentation box

Closed Atelier Numen presentation box tied with an ivory ribbon

01 / 06 · Ready to wear

Editorial reference photographyZoom to examine the material

Reference AN · EG · 0001Available

Egyptian Faience Necklace

Tubes of turquoise faience, punctuated by discs of black, green, yellow, white and red. Every variation carries the trace of a hand at work almost three thousand years ago.

€2,500CHF 2,350 VAT included

Complimentary 24-hour reservation · Personal assistance

Date: circa 900 BC
Culture: Ancient Egypt
Material: Polychrome faience
Condition: Excellent, with ancient wear
Weight: 4.3 g
Length: 46.8 cm

Included with the piece

Individual certificate of authenticity
Condition report and conservation guidance
Atelier Numen signature presentation box
Door-to-door insured shipping

Ancient faience necklace worn against the skin — True scale · 46.8 cm

Designed for the body

Ancient history, worn close.

The ancient elements have been restrung on modern thread, returning the necklace to its original function while protecting the archaeological material from tension. A discreet contemporary clasp can be secured before delivery.

46.8 cmLength

23 cmApprox. drop

4.3 gWeight

The wearer

Faience was worn by the highest houses.

The plate reconstructs how a necklace of this kind sat on the body. The comparative papyrus, made for a king’s daughter in the same Theban world, shows the standing that colour of this order accompanied.

Pencil and watercolour reconstruction of a Theban woman of high standing wearing a turquoise faience necklace — House plate · The wearer, Third Intermediate Period Egypt, circa 900 BC · Commissioned reconstruction, and a record of how a necklace of this kind was worn rather than of this object

Painted papyrus vignette from the Book of the Dead of Nauny, Chantress of Amun and king's daughter, Metropolitan Museum of Art — Comparative object · Book of the Dead for the Chantress of Amun, Nauny · Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21, ca. 1050 BC · Papyrus and paint, L. 521.5 cm · The Met 30.3.31 · Public Domain

Material · Faience

Ancient light, held in a glaze.

In the kiln the colour rises to the surface and sets as a vitreous skin. Twenty-nine centuries have softened the lustre and kept the blue.

≈ 900 °CFiring temperature

4.3 gTotal weight

Magnified surface of several ancient faience beads

Move the cursor to exploreMagnified surface · editorial detail

The Egyptian palette

In ancient Egypt, colour gave visible form to life, renewal, purity and power.

Life

Blue-green evoked the Nile, the sky and new vegetation. Turquoise faience carried associations of fertility, protection and renewal.

A work from the period

Faience gave colour a lasting form.

Turquoise faience travelled through workshops, sanctuaries and burials as amulets, elements of dress and objects made to be worn. The material held mineral colour under a surface made to catch light.

The Metropolitan Museum’s openwork faience measures 1.4 cm across and holds its blue-green glaze intact. It is dated to the Late Period, later than this necklace, and belongs to the same continuous tradition of Egyptian faience. Its published record belongs to that museum object; this necklace carries its own passport.

Turquoise Egyptian faience bead with openwork design in the Metropolitan Museum of Art — Comparative object · Bead with openwork design · Egypt, Late Period, 664–332 BC · The Met O.C.2691 · Public Domain

The scale of time

This faience entered the fire twenty-nine centuries ago.

900 BC

The faience takes form in the kiln

753 BC

Legendary foundation of Rome

30 BC

Egypt becomes a Roman province

1492

Columbus crosses the Atlantic

Today

The piece enters its next chapter

The Nile valley · Ancient Egypt

One river held the whole civilisation together.

The Nile joined communities, workshops and sanctuaries across the length of Egypt. Along its banks, colour travelled through daily life in ornament, vessels and offerings.

1,350 kmLength through Egypt

South → NorthDirection of the river

Pencil and watercolour map of the Nile Valley, Delta, Sinai and Red Sea

Historical context map · The object record supports a broad Egyptian attribution; its documented history begins in a later collection.

Provenance · The complete record

Trust, recorded in full.

The value of an ancient object rests on evidence, clear attribution and the precise limits of its surviving record.

Established

The composition, the patina and the forms are consistent with ancient Egyptian faience.
The combination of turquoise tubes and polychrome discs belongs to the repertoire of the Third Intermediate Period.
The piece comes from the professional British antiquities market.
The faience is ancient; the thread and small clasp are contemporary.

The surviving record

The original owner’s name has not survived.
The precise findspot is unrecorded.
The available evidence supports a period attribution rather than a specific workshop or tomb.

Every gap remains visible in the dossier. Clarity protects the object and its next custodian.

Physical archive · Included

The object record

Every object enters the Numen Archive with its own illustrated record: photography, material description, provenance, condition and permanent number.

Atelier Numen · ArchiveObject record
Series 01 · Egypt

Necklace on a black bust within the archive record

Authenticity verified

Object: Necklace
Origin: Ancient Egypt
Period: Third Intermediate Period
Date: circa 900 BC
Material: Polychrome faience
Measure: 46.8 cm · 4.3 g
Record: AN · EG · 0001

Individual edition · 01/01Permanent house archive

Lifetime authenticity

The piece arrives with an individual certificate and a return guarantee should its authenticity ever be questioned.

Secure custody

Conservation-grade packing, insured transport and personal oversight through delivery.

Continued care

Conservation advice, restringing review and support for your archive or future transfer.

The house presentation · Included

A signature box, worthy of its contents.

Every Atelier Numen piece arrives as a gift in the house’s midnight-blue presentation box, tied by hand with an ivory grosgrain ribbon.

Closed midnight-blue Atelier Numen presentation box with ivory ribbon — **The Atelier Numen box**Midnight-blue bookbinding cloth · ivory grosgrain ribbon · antique-gold signature · protective inner case

House signatureA permanent design shared by every piece in the Atelier Numen collection.

Gift presentationClosed, ribboned by hand and ready to be given.

Protected withinA conservation-grade inner case is fitted to the object’s exact geometry.

Personal deliveryAvailable by appointment, or insured shipping with direct oversight.

Before deciding

Questions, answered clearly

Is the faience ancient if the thread is modern?

Yes. Organic threads perish while the faience survives. Restringing is established practice for giving the ancient material a stable contemporary assembly. The archive record always distinguishes ancient material from contemporary assembly.

Can I wear the necklace?

Yes, with care. Keep it dry, put it on after perfume and cosmetics, and store it flat in darkness on a soft support. Its light weight makes it particularly comfortable.

How can a piece this old have this price?

Egypt produced faience over millennia, and many have survived. Price reflects quality, the coherence of the arrangement, condition, documentation and the present market.

What exactly will I receive?

The piece, its individual certificate, technical and condition record, conservation guidance, archive photography and the Atelier Numen presentation box. Every detail is confirmed with you before shipping.

What does a reservation mean?

We place the piece on hold for 24 hours at no charge and contact you personally to answer questions, provide additional photographs and arrange delivery or collection.

One piece · one custodian

2,900 years. The next chapter is yours.

The reservation is complimentary and holds the piece for twenty-four hours. We respond personally, with the complete dossier.

The Arrivals

The next object is already being examined.

Pieces are found one at a time, and only the intact ones are catalogued. Subscribers see each arrival first, with its record, its condition and its price.