Glass Beads with Pendant

57 BC-AD 668

Glass Beads with Pendant, 57 BC-AD 668. Korea, Three Kingdoms period (57 BC-668). Glass; overall: 3 x 4.5 cm (1 3/16 x 1 3/4 in.); each bead: 0.9 x 0.9 cm (3/8 x 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1917.1062 An enormous amount of beaded strings and necklaces were excavated from Silla tomb sites. Glass, largely produced in ancient Rome since the late 1st century, also reached the Korean peninsula through the Silk Road, the ancient global trade route. Yet the blue glass beads shown in this necklace are highly likely to be soda glass produced in the Silla territory. Glass, largely produced in ancient Rome since the late 1st century, also reached the Korean peninsula through the Silk Road, the ancient global trade route.