Necklace in Gold Filagree of Queen Tausret

Unknown

ca. 1200–1186 B.C. · Gold · Egyptian Art

The cornflower and ball beads in this necklace were made by soldering wire rings of several different diameters into the desired forms. The piece is an early example of the technique known as filagree. Discovered with a cache of jewelry in the Valley of the Kings, the necklace is thought to have belonged to Tawosret, wife of the Seti II and regent for her husband's successor Siptah. Tawosret, who reigned Egypt in her own right for several years at the end of Dynasty 19, was one of the few female rulers of Egypt, the most famous of whom are Hatshepsut and Cleopatra VII.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1200–1186 B.C.

Medium

Gold

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915 Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926 (26.7.1346, .1348)