Round glass bead with pattern of seven circles within a circle in brown, white and blue glass. currently stored in embroidered box. | 2.2cm | Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 B.C.), c. 5th c. B.C.
The earliest examples of Chinese glass include polychrome beads like these, in which superimposed layers of different colors create eye-like motifs. Rich in lead and barium, these beads are chemically distinct from those of soda-lime glass made in Gr...