Egyptian Carnelian Purse Bead Amulet

18th Dynasty, 1550-1292 BC. A carved red carnelian bifacial bead from a girdle or bracelet, representing a folded leather disk or purse with two rows of stitching around the outer edge, three piercings for suspension. Cf. Hayes, W.C., The Scepter of Egypt II. A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990, pp.134-135, fig.73 for a girdle worn by wife of Tuthmosis III, and p.179-182, fig.101 for a bracelet and girdle; Xia, Nai, Ancient Egyptian Beads, Berlin, 2014, pl.XII, pn78f and pl.XIV, pd76. 1.11 grams, 14.39mm (1/2"). Property of a gentleman; acquired from the collection of a West London businessman, from a collection formed in the late 1980s-early 1990s; formerly in a 1970s private collection.
Condition Report: Extremely fine condition.