Ancient Roman Collection of 8 rare beads

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Collection of 8 special ancient glass and stone (carnelian) beads, various rare and interesting types.
Including a rare blue Celtic glass bead with zig-zag motif, a conical bead with linear decorations and a small melon bead.

Dimensions: range ± 7,2 - 16,1 mm

Condition: various conditions, average good condition. Signs of wear consistent with age and use. See images.
Certificate of Authenticity: available upon request (pdf-document) .

ANCIENT GLASS
Glass has always been found in nature, but the humans first created glass about 4. 000 years ago. when ancient craftsmen in Mesopotamia discovered the art of mixing sand, soda and lime to make glass.
For centuries, glass was a luxury item and reserved for the upper classes.

Glassmaking centers around the Mediterranean world experimented with new techniques (casting, core-forming, mosaic glass) and with colours by adding metallic oxides (cobalt, copper, etc) to the mixture.

The Romans learned the glass-making craft after the conquest of Egypt in the 1st century BC. During the 1st century AD the glassblowing technique revolutionized the production and made it possible to produce larger quantities. By adding manganese dioxide Roman glassmakers successfully produced colourless or ‘aqua’ glass for the first time.

Roman glass became a very popular material, used for beads, glass windows, mosaic tiles, tableware pieces etc. Roman glass was traded all over the Roman Empire and far beyond to Central Africa, Scandinavia and via the Silk Route to China.