Ancient Glass and Silver Lunula Necklace

A necklace of mixed colour and pattern ancient glass beads, with my silver palmette leaf drops and Lunula pendant, along with my signature serpent hook clasp, also in silver. The beads on this necklace are ancient Roman and Islamic, some with complex mosaic and Moiré patterns in both bright and subtle colours.

I have accented these little glass treasures with eight palmette leaf drops and a large central Lunula pendant. Palmette designs are common in the art of ancient Egypt, where they symbolized the sacred palm tree and its gift of dates, and therefore, fertility and the goddess Hathor. Even older representations of the palmette leaf and the date palm as the Tree of Life are seen in Mesopotamian art, also representing fertility and abundance.

Crescent-shaped Lunula pendants are also found throughout the ancient world, and especially in Greece and Rome, where they were worn by young girls and women as protective amulets. The Moon herself is a timeless symbol of feminine energy, fertility, and eternal renewal, with her crescent phase reflected in the horns of Hathor’s sacred creature, the cow. This necklace ties these influences together in a serene, calming piece.