This 3-inch-tall glass pendant depicting a male figure with wide, staring eyes, puckered lips, a thick, wavy beard and tightly cropped hair was found in a Phoenician burial ground near the town of Olbia in Sardinia. Topped by a small suspension loop, the head (which likely represents the Phoenician god Melqart or Eshmoun) was the centerpiece of an elaborate beaded necklace made during the fourth or third century B.C.E. to protect the owner from harm and evil spirits in the world beyond. Found throughout the Phoenician world, glass pendants depicting gods, demons and animals were produced in a variety […]
