Pendant

Description

A pendant and bead necklace structured around a central jade plaque, suspended from a double-strand of graduated stone beads. The strands descend in parallel before converging at the plaque, establishing a transition from suspension to terminal element.

The plaque is carved in openwork with a circular aperture at its centre, its surface worked with low-relief pattern contained within a defined perimeter. From its lower edge, five bead drops descend at regular intervals, the outer drops terminating in gold elements, the inner drops in larger faceted stone. The sequence extends the vertical axis below the plaque, maintaining continuity between the upper strands and the suspended elements.

The bead strands combine jade, jasper, agate, and quartz, interspersed with gold spacers that regulate spacing and introduce contrast across the length. The stringing runs uninterrupted, allowing the variation in material and scale to read as a single continuous structure.

Context

Burmese jewellery of this type is organised through the relationship between carved stone elements and suspended beadwork. Structural emphasis rests on the central plaque, with secondary elements extending its axis and distributing weight through the composition.

Provenance

From the Felice Maffei Collection.

Acquired in Burma, 1970.

Available on private enquiry.