NEW KINGDOM, 18TH DYNASTY, 1550-1295 B.C.

As P. Lacovara and Y.J. Markowitz remark (p. 153 in Jewels of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Treasures from the Worcester Art Museum), "During the early New Kingdom, golden flies served as honorific awards for military service while later in the period the recipients broadened to include meritorious civil servants. Surviving examples typically feature cast-gold fly pendants strung with carnelian beads. It is believed the award originated in ancient Nubia, where outstanding soldiers wore large fly pendants made of ivory."