Pre-Columbian, Colombia, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A beautiful collection of ancient Colombian stone (and one copper) beads, punctuated by a flat, blade-like greenstone pendant at its center and five charming, stylized fish beads carved from reddish and greyish hard stone. Brown, black, white, and deep blue-green stone beads stud the rest of the gold-filled chain. In the Tumaco / La Tolita culture of ancient Ecuador and Colombia, people carved fish-shaped graters to shred manioc tuber; more recent ethnographies link manioc, fish, and fertility together in a symbolic cycle. These fish-shaped beads are probably part of this tradition. Size: 33" L (83.8 cm)

Provenance: The beads are ex Adeon Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

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#128624

Light surface wear commensurate with age, with some of the beads lightly dinged or scratched. All of the fish beads are in very fine condition, as is the central amulet. Modern stringing.