A Roman Glass Eye Bead set as a Pendant, Roman Period, ca. 1st century BCE

A lovely round core-formed eye bead featuring dark blue and white eyes, rimmed with black against a sky blue background. The bead has been re-mounted as a pendant necklace in 14K modern gold. The eye symbol has always played an important role in magic beliefs and practices. Eye beads were commonly seen as apotropaic, their primary function being that of protecting against the ˜Evil Eye. The earliest types of eye beads (first half of the 1st millennium BC) were made by applying a trail from a molten rod of glass of a contrasting color onto a base bead essentially drawing circles on the surface of the bead. Extensive catalog of beads and other small objects from the Israel Museum in 2001 constitutes a pioneering step towards recognition of beads as a significant class of archaeological treasures. For related examples see: Spaer M., Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum. Beads and other small objects. Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2001, pl. 8: 102 Medium: Glass Dimensions:  Bead height: 6 mm. Se