Lot 8068. A collection of sixty-five glass 'eye' beads, Zhou dynasty; 1 1/4in (2.8cm) width of the largest. Estimate US$ 10,000 - 20,000 (€9,000 - 18,000). Sold for US$ 31,250 (€ 25,381). Photo: Bonhams.

Made from lead-barium glass, with vibrant blue bodies, some of iridescent tones, inset with delicately formed balls, rosettes, spirals and dots of contrasting colored glass in yellow, white and turquoise hues, the beads now strung on a cord to form a necklace. 

Notes: The earliest known Chinese glass beads were crafted during the Western Zhou period, from the ninth to eighth centuries B.C., perhaps as an attempt to imitate jade. Glass beads were also imported to China from Mesopotamia in the Near East, and during the Eastern Zhou period, glass 'eye' beads were admired as exotic, decorative objects and were placed in aristocratic tombs to indicate high status. The key difference between Chinese and Near Eastern glass beads was the higher lead content in Chinese glass. 

The term 'eye' bead derives from the concentric circles of variously-colored glass layered upon a glass core to create the effect of 'eyes'. Examples can now be found in museums, including blue beads dated to the Warring States period in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, no. B62M32, and a brown glass bead also dated to the Warring States Period in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and included in the exhibition Sharing Treasures: A Special Exhibition of Antiquities Donated to the Museum, no. Zheng-Za-000002. It is very rare to find a large collection such as the present lot offered for sale.

Bonhams. CHINESE PAINTINGS AND WORKS OF ART, 14 Sep 2015 10:00 EDT , NEW YORK