A large Hellenistic Stratified Eye Bead, ca. 4th century BCE

This fabulous square barrel bead features blue and white eyes against a blue background, with a large stringing hole through the center.

For similar beads see:
-Kunter K. Glasperlen der vorromischen Eisenzeit IV. Schichtaugenperlen. Marburger Studien, 1995, taf. 5: 20, 21
-Spaer M., Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum. Beads and other small objects. Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2001, pl. 8: 102
-Véronique Arveiller-Dulong, Marie-Dominique Nenna. Les Verres antiques du Musée du Louvre III : Parure, instruments et éléments d’incrustation, Paris, Éditions du Louvre, Somogy, 2011, p. 150 and publication front cover.

Condition: Surface wear and signs of usage, but intact and in good condition overall

Dimensions: Length: 1/2 inch (1.27 cm), Width: 5/8 inches (1.58 cm)

Provenance: The Hauge Collection of Ancient & Iranian Art, assembled between 1962 and 1966. Foreign service brothers, Victor and Osborne Hauge, together with their wives Takako and Gratia, assembled their collection of Persian, Japanese, Chinese, and Southeast Asian works of fine and folk art while stationed overseas with the US government after WWII. In consultation with academics and dealers, the Hauge's assembled over two decades of what former Freer Gallery of Art director Harold Stern described in 1957 as "without doubt one of the finest private collections in the world". Victor and Takako published Folk Traditions in Japanese Art to coincide with a traveling exhibition held in 1978 at the Cleveland Museum of Art; Japan House Gallery, New York; and Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Much of their collection was donated to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute culminating in an exhibition and published catalog in 2000. The balance of the collection, including this object, was inherited by descent in 2016.