Egyptian Hathor Turquoise Multi-Drop Necklace

Art jewelry makes a unique gift for her.

This striking semiprecious turquoise necklace reimagines ancient beads of faience (ca. 1550–1295 B.C.)—a ceramic material created in brilliant blue hues—which may have belonged to various necklaces given as offerings to Hathor: the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility; the fierce protector of women; and the daughter of the powerful sun god, Re. Associated with the sun’s eternal light, faience objects were thought to possess divine properties. The pendants elevating this design are informed by a glass cowroid bead (ca. 1550–1425 B.C.), or cowry shell–shaped amulet, also dating to the New Kingdom and housed in the Museum’s Egyptian art collection.