**Originally Listed At $2000**

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Moche culture, ca. 200 to 800 CE. A magnificent necklace with 29 pecked and polished quartz (rock crystal) beads, each nearly entirely translucent and spherical with a massive teardrop pendant at the center. All quartz beads are ancient, strung in modern times with modern spacer beads along the terminal and a barrel clasp as a wearable necklace. Rock crystal finds from the Chavin period are fascinating- the transparency of the stones must have transfixed ancient people's for their beauty and seemingly magical properties, and they were worn by distinguished members of society and buried as precious grave goods. Some researchers believe that rock crystal beads just like these show that the Chavin had developed the ability to shape convex lenses, perhaps for magnification or fire starting. In this case, the beautiful beads make for a breathtaking piece of wearable art! Size of strand: 19" L (48.3 cm); central pendant: 1.5" L x 1" W (3.8 cm x 2.5 cm); weight: 315.6 grams

For a very similar example of this necklace please see the Larco Museum (Museo Larco) website, catalog code: ML300024. This entry also available to view on the Google Arts & Culture website.

Provenance: ex-Pepe Schaefer collection, La Quinta, California, USA, gifted in 1984 by Bosta Seminarao, Santa Rosa, California, USA, imported into the US 1955 or earlier

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#178259

Chips and abrasions to the quartz beads and light mineral deposits. Strung in modern times on a modern wire with a barrel clasp and modern acrylic spacer beads along terminal. Wearable and overall great condition.