A beautiful Western Asiatic gold pendant, featuring a suspension loop at the top. The piece is composed of a stack of circular blue glass beads and a small cream stone bead, topped by a cylindrical cap formed from a thin gold sheet, which encases a gold sphere and is decorated by fine granulation. Many grand civilisations inhabited the Near East, their wealth and prosperity is witnessed by the very sophisticated precious metal crafting of jewellery. Gold would have been hammered down to a thin layer and manipulated into different shapes. The Repoussé and chasing techniques were used to create designs in high and low relief by hammering shapes into the metal from either the front or the reverse. Gold and silver jewellery were also enriched with gold granules, glass and semi-precious stone inlays and detailed engravings. Very fine granulation along with filigree, were at the centre of Near Eastern and Western Asiatic jewellery production and were later adopted by the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans. Measurements: Circa L 2.5 cm Weight: 2.50g Provenance: Ex Japanese gentleman deceased collection, 1970-2010.