Late Neolithic/early Bronze Age Beaded Necklace, England, Somerset (3000–2000 Bc)

Rare Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age bead necklace – England, Somerset (3000–2000 BC). The necklace comprises sixteen irregularly ovoid beads with natural banding in shades of gray, brown, and beige, forming a harmonious and balanced whole. Made of banded siliceous hard stone (chalcedony/agate), the beads have been cut, abraded, drilled, and polished; showing signs of age. Traces of oxidation are embedded in the stone, along with old and repatinated micro-chips and irregularities in the perforations, consistent with early stone toolmaking. The necklace is mounted on an old metal frame covered with brown wool. It is accompanied by an old handwritten ink label (front and back) reading: "Locality Haunch Hill, Somerset" and "From a grave, Somersetshire, 1960 Oct" (probable reading). See photos. England, Somerset, Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (c. 3000–2000 BC). Dimensions: Diameter: approx. 18 cm. Provenance: Former collection, Paris, after inheritance; collection assembled from the first half of the 20th century and expanded until the 1970s. The collector's full identity will be provided to the buyer on the certificate of authenticity. Sold with a certificate of authenticity from the expert Serge Reynes. Guaranteed origin and period. "This rare necklace testifies to the importance of hardstone jewelry in ancient British societies. The beads, fashioned from a banded siliceous material prized for its luster, were painstakingly abraded and then drilled by rotation using drills, probably operated with a bow drill, with the use of abrasives: a slow and demanding process requiring true technical mastery. The overall regularity—choice of material, comparable dimensions, unity of execution—suggests a consistent archaeological provenance, likely from the same context, although this cannot be stated with certainty. It fits within the context of the great megalithic landscapes of southern England, such as Stonehenge, Avebury, and Silbury Hill, where the observation of the sky and seasonal rhythms guided the cycles of agricultural life. In this world where the earth and the stars structured beliefs, these ornaments were part of an intimate relationship with the world: they marked rank, but also belonging." to a community attentive to the forces of nature and the signs of the cosmos. Complete sets of British prehistoric beads, preserved as a whole with indications of ancient provenance, are still rarely offered on the market.* Shipping costs upon request via DHL