...to hold and behold
Here is a treasured necklace, composed of 16 old rock crystal beads and one quartz elephant bead. The crystal beads remind me of ice while the quaint elephant has a touch of the evergreen.
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| Crystal on the rocks |
These faceted rock crystals have weathered well through the centuries, retaining a genteel sparkle. The perforations drilled from both sides can be clearly seen through the translucent crystal.
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| translucent and brilliant |
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| crystals close up |
The centrepiece of the necklace is a quartz elephant from Myanmar's Pyu Dynasty 167-1044 AD. It is zoomorphic in appearance and such elephants can be found in Pyu's repertoire of stone carvings. This one has been damaged and repaired. A close up of the elephant showing its repaired head and parts of the body can be seen below
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| Quartz elephant from Pyu dynasty |
The crystal beads were sold as Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) by a China dealer but its hard to determine the exact vintage. Meanwhile it's still a lovely strand to hold and behold.
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| ...to hold and behold... |
