Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
CHAPTER2
BEADSINMEROITICANDPOST-MEROITICCULTURES:
ICONOGRAPHICANDCONTEXTUALOVERVIEW
Richbeadandpendantadornmentsareoneofthe
mostcharacteristicfeaturesofancientNubian
cultures,andtheMeroiticandpost-Meroiticperi-
odsarenoexception.IntheMeroiticperiodbeads
werefoundassociatedwithroyal,ritualandpri-
vatespheres.ThestelaofNastasen(335-315BC),
thelastkingburiedatNapata,inthenecropolis
atNuri(Nu15),showsthekingoHeringanecklace
andpectoraltoAmun,inbothhisThebanand
Napatanforms(Wildung1997:Pl.265).Asimi-
larsceneisshownonastelaoftheMeroiticKing
Amenakhabale(firsthalfof1stcenturyAD),in
whichheoHersathree-strandnecklacetoAmun
andMut(Baud2010:Pl.223).
Acordnecklacewiththreeram’sheadpen-
dantamuletsandalongstringoflargebeadswith
acentralamuletcanbeobservedonaking’sstatue
foundontheislandofArgo(e.g.,Wildung1997:
Cat.270,about200BC).Abroadcollarofbeads,
pendantsandamuletsliesinmanyrowsoverthe
shouldersandbreastsofqueensandkingsinthe
reliefsfromtheLionTempleatNaga(Wildung
1997:326,Fig.44).Alongwithastringoflarge
globularbeads,acollarlikethisbelongstothe
mostcharacteristicroyalanddivineadornments
oftheMeroiticperiod.Theroyalreliefsfromthe
1stcenturyADatNaga,Meroë,andMusawwarat
es-Sufraarecharacterizedbydepictionsofroyalty
andgodswearinglongstringsoflargeglobular
beadsandacentralamulet(e.g.,Török2011:Pls81,
82,87,155,156,159).Thesamemotifisrepeated
onthegoldjewelryfoundintheTombofQueen
Amishakheto,whereitisshownaroundtheneck
ofagod.Aboveanenameledshield(aegis)inthe
formofabroadcollar,agod’sheadisportrayed
wearinganamuleticgoldnecklaceoflargebeads
(Priese1992:Figs39c,47;Andrews1991:168-169,
199).Asimilarnecklaceappearsonthenecksof
Mut(Priese1992:Fig.34;Wildung1997:Pl.333),
Sebiumeker(Priese1992:Fig.41;Wildung1997:
Pl.334),andApademak(Wenig1978:Fig.74,Cat.
164;Priese1992:Fig.9;Wildung1997:Pl.335).
Representationsofsimilarnecklacesareshown
hangingbeneaththeheadsofcriocephalusgods
andgoddesses(Priese1992:Figs9,29,30,32;Wil-
dung1997:Pls328,329,331and332).Elaborate
necklacesaredepictedonthefuneraryBa-bird
statueofaprinceoraviceroyfoundatKaranog
(WoolleyandRandall-MacIver1910:Pl.1;Török
1997:492).Abronzebustfoundatel-Hassa,as-
cribedtoaMeroiticqueenanddatedtotheend
ofthe1stcenturyAD,depictsashortnecklaceof
largebeads(Baud2010:Pl.308).Astringofelon-
gatedbeadsiseasilydiscernibleonthequeen’s
neckinascenethatdecoratesabronzebowlfrom
Karanoggrave187(WoolleyandRandall-MacIver
1910:Pl.27).Whilestringsoflargeglobularbeads
withacentralamuletbelongtotheroyalanddi-
vinesphere,broadcollarscomposedofmultiple
stringsofsmallbeads,pendantsandamuletswere
alsowornbynon-royals(Wildung1997:Cat.365).
Twobroadcollarswerereconstructedfromindi-
vidualelementsfoundwiththetreasureofAman-
ishakheto(Wildung1997:Cat.365,366).
Meroiticfunerarystelaedepictedmen,wom-
enandchildrenwearingrichbeadadornments
(WoolleyandRandall-MacIver1910:Pls11-13;
Spaer2001).Ononesuchstela,thenecksand
armsofagirlaredecoratedwithbeadnecklaces,
braceletsandapossiblecirclet(WoolleyandRan-
dall-MacIver1910:Pl.13:7079G.146).Aclayfigure
ofadollfromKaranogisadornedwithapaint-
ingofalargered,greenandblackbeadneck-
lace(WoolleyandRandall-MacIver1910:245,Pl.
109:7466G.286).Lastbutnotleast,themotifof
astringofbeads,pendantsandamuletsisfound
PAMMonographSeries10
15
