Condition
Intact
Description
The upper and lower parts of the bead are made of red glass. There is no base mass, and at the lower, wider opening the thread hole is red at least to mid-height. On the upper thread hole, an interior gray layer is visible—the same as the one into which the face masks are applied—covered by a red layer. There are two almost-square faces; there is a thin purple layer around the head, set in a wide gray square field. The additional plaques are two oval features that flank the faces. In the center is a rectangular banded bit, with red, white, yellow, and translucent green and blue set in an oval light green. The pattern on the central bit is not understandable but is probably part of a larger motif. The second oval has only a small part of a red and white pattern at the edge, possibly the same with the other one.
Comments and Comparanda
On mosaic face beads, see comments on cat. 534 and 535. For provenance, bibliography, and exhibitions, see group entry, cat. 534.