Broad Collar of Wah
Middle Kingdom
Not on view
This broad collar is one of the finest examples of its type from the early Middle Kingdom. It was carefully designed using beads of diminishing lengths to create the curved form. Although a few areas needed reinforcing with modern thread, the stringing is almost entirely original. The collar is part of a set of funerary jewelry belonging to Wah, the estate manager of Meketre.
Wah's broad collar, anklets, and bracelets were made as funerary ornaments for the burial and were found in the layers of linen wrapping that were closest to the body; the collar had been tied around the neck, the bracelets and anklets had been laid over the lower arms and legs. They are all made of a ceramic material called Egyptian faience. Beaded jewelry sets of this type are illustrated in the object friezes that decorate many Middle Kingdom coffins, and fragmentary examples have been found in numerous tombs of the period.
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