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Biconical Bead

A work made of bronze.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of bronze.

Date:

Geometric Period (800–600 BCE)

Artist:

Greek; Thessaly

About this artwork

These precious bronzes objects are votives, or devotional gifts, made for gods. They come in many forms. Some are miniature sculptures of animals, mostly depicting horses, deer, and birds. Others are items of personal adornment, including beads and brooches. Quite a few seem once to have been attached to something else. This assemblage is characteristic of the thousands of votives that were hung from sacred trees or placed in sanctuaries around Greece. Once a shrine was full, the votives were gathered together and ceremonially buried to make room for more offerings. This comes from Thessaly in north-eastern Greece.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Biconical Bead

Place

Greece (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

800 BCE–600 BCE

Medium

Bronze

Dimensions

3.7 × 5.9 × 3.7 cm (1 1/2 × 2 3/8 × 1 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Alexander

Reference Number

2008.564

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/196447/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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