Bead and reel

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Gold 20-stater of Eucratides I within a "bead and reel" border. Cabinet des Médailles, Paris.
Gold 20-stater of Eucratides I within a "bead and reel" border. Cabinet des Médailles, Paris.
Bead and reel motif at the base of the capital of a Pillar of Ashoka, in Vaishali.
Bead and reel motif at the base of the capital of a Pillar of Ashoka, in Vaishali.

"Bead and reel" is an architectural motif, usually found in sculptures, moldings and numismatics. It consists in a thin line where beadlike elements alternate with cylindrical ones.

Bead and reel motifs can be found abundantly in Greek and Hellenistic sculpture, on the border of Hellenistic coins. In India, bead and reel motifs are found extensively, starting from the time of the Mauryan Empire, where they appears at the base of the capital of several of the Pillars of Ashoka.