Javanese Jatim Bead Strand

Fat green beads that look less like jewelry than a handful of small fruit.

From East Java, Indonesia, this Jatim bead strand is Javanese and dates to the 8th or 9th century. It is glass. Beads of this type, named for Jawa Timur, belong to the period of Hindu Javanese kingdoms, when glass was shaped into ornaments for those who could afford display. Here the beads are large and nearly uniform, moving between yellow-green and olive, with a single bright yellow one near the back. Each shows a dry, speckled, pitted skin. Nine inches long.

Short, heavy looking, and in no need of a pendant.