Necklace in Gold Filagree of Queen Tausret

Necklace in Gold Filagree of Queen Tausret

Period:New Kingdom, RamessideDynasty:Dynasty 19Date:ca. 1200–1186 B.C.Geography:From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Tomb KV 56 ("The Gold Tomb"), Davis/Ayrton excavations 1908Medium:GoldDimensions:l. 58 cm (24 in); h. of cornflowers 2.6 cm (7/8 in); w. of umbel .55 cm; diam. of ball bead 0.6-0.8 cmCredit Line:Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915 Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926 (26.7.1346, .1348)Accession Number:30.8.66

Met Museum

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544769

The cornflower and ball beads in this necklace were made by soldering wire rings of several different diameters into the desired forms. The piece is an early example of the technique known as filagree. Discovered with a cache of jewelry in the Valley of the Kings, the necklace is thought to have belonged to Tawosret, wife of the Seti II and regent for her husband's successor Siptah. Tawosret, who reigned Egypt in her own right for several years at the end of Dynasty 19, was one of the few female rulers of Egypt, the most famous of whom are Hatshepsut and Cleopatra VII.