Roman Hand-Blown Glass Bead Pendant pius The radiate portrait presents Augustus

The radiate portrait presents Augustus not as a living ruler

Each bead is a fragment of Roman daily life

when glassmaking reached extraordinary levels of refinement

when Caracalla was still Caesar under Septimius Severus

Roman Hand-Blown Glass Bead Pendant pius The radiate portrait presents AugustusFormed nearly two millennia ago, this hand blown glass bead dates to the height of the Roman Empire, when glassmaking reached extraordinary levels of refinement. Buried for centuries, its surface has developed a natural iridescence, a rainbow patina created as minerals slowly interacted with the glass. The result is not decoration applied by hand, but color authored by time itself.