Four sided, carnelian seal or pendant bead from the Bactrian Empire. Beautifully engraved figures on each side with religious or mythological significance.
Bactria is the name of an ancient country lying between the mountains of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya river. Bactria was especially important from about 600 BC to about 600 AD, serving for much of that time as a meeting place not only for overland trade between East and West, but also for the intermingling of religious and artistic ideas from neighboring cultures.
Strung with modern gold filled wire and beads. The chain is also gold filled and is adjustable from 18" to 19".