The Eye of Ra

(2004) 9"x4.5" delica beads (satin green iris, 14k gold enamel, translucent white satin, glossy black), size 15 14k gold enamel seed beads, assorted triangular and round glass beads, bronze beads, nylon thread.

This cuff bracelet features two indentical panels threaded in Ndebele or Herringbone stitch. Both show the Egyptian udijat eye. The two panels were then laced up using a variety of metal and glass beads. I have always liked the vibrant lapis, turquoise and gold tones of ancient Egyptian jewelry and tried to capture them in this piece.

Ndebele is a very versatile stitch. It works with patterns graphed for loom pieces, because the beads are stacked on top of each other rather than offset as with Brick and Peyote. Also Nedebele works well in round pieces and for embedding other beads of different sizes.