Beautiful Hand popular Painted Middle Eastern Antique Miniature: Old Faceted Russian Blue Beads, Rare Yellow Venetian & Blue Tabular Drawn Glass

Beautiful Middle Eastern Antique Miniature Hand Painted Hunting Scene on Mother of Pearl: Old Faceted Russian Blue Beads, Rare Yellow Venetian & Blue Tabular Drawn Glass.

The hero in this necklace is the beautiful, skillful, antique fine art painting, which was done with a very fine brush on mother of pearl. It depicts a classic hunting scene showing 7 hunters on horseback with their swords in hand. There are 5 deer fleeing. The animated graceful horses show great spirit and energy. The details of the hunters, including their clothes is amazing.

The scene is set in a field surrounded by tall peaks, decorative swaying bushes next to tall thin trees. There are also blooming flowers and a soft blue sky.

The artist used the traditional technique of building popular up layers of lacquered pigment. The underlay is thinly applied gold. Then the artist goes to work with a brush made of a single hair for much of the scene.



The under layer of gold pigment gives the painting a special glow that adds to the luminescence of the pearl base. 



The mother of pearl became a desirable base for the masters of the 1800s; this piece fits into that later period of the Isfahan school of miniatures. 

This lovely pendant is approx. 64mm long (2.5”) and 55mm (2.1”) wide. 

I would like to invite you to use the magnifying feature to see the incredible detail in this painting.

Gracing this magnificent miniature painting are a dozen faceted Russian blue glass beads.

These old European trade beads were made from a rich blue glass and faceted by hand. The jeweler held each bead against the grinding wheel several times. These gorgeous old beads were probably made in Bohemia, and carried by the Russian fur trade to the Pacific Northwest. They were also traded in Africa. Approximate age is late 19th to early 20th century. They are approx. 4-5mm diameter and 20mm long.

Other beads are vintage cobalt blue tubular drawn glass beads. They were made in Europe and traded in Africa. Bead size is approx. 2-3mm diameter.

And interspersed throughout are tiny Krobo imitation “ancient Roman” glass beads (approx. 4-6mm in diameter) blue with white decoration. They were made in Murano in the early 19th century and hand made copper beads from Africa.

Also honoring this piece are four rare chevron yellow Venetian trade beads with green and brown painting. These beads are also called rosetta or star beads and bring the color of the miniature painting up into the necklace.

Handmade brass clasp with a tiny turquoise cabochon. 



Length of necklace is approx. 20.5 inches (includes clasp).



Note: For those who aren't familiar with the metric system, 25mm is about 1 inch.