Fustat mosaic bead 800-1000 AD

This barrel-shaped ‘Fustat bead’ is made of six sections of spiral mosaic cane laid next to each other longitudinally in alternating directions, creating a zigzag effect. The striping is the same in all cane sections—wide black, thin red, wide brown, thin red—only the direction changes. The core of the twisted cane sections, visible in cross-section at the ends of the bead, is translucent pale green. There is no core bead, the cane sections themselves were shaped into a bead. The bead was finished by grinding. Probably Egypt, 800-1000 AD. Size 3/4 by 3/4" Provenance Malter Gallery CA