Hi,
I found a seemingly endless supply of these trade beads on the
chesapeake bay. Can anyone tell me where they were made and when?
thank you,
Jerri
Hi Jerri,
Those look to me like a reproduction of a type of bead that was
popular as a trade item with American Indians during the late 1700’s
through the 1800’s. They’re often referred to as “wound glass,”
describing the way in which they were made by winding around a
mandrel. The original beads were, I think, mostly made in France and
Italy; the modern versions are usually Indian.
I have a few large (over 1/2") donut beads in beautiful cobalt blue,
probaby French, from the late 1800’s. They’re easy to come by and not
too pricey.
“The History of Beads,” by Lois Sherr Dubin, would have a much more
detailed (and probably more accurate) overview of these beads, if you
wish to delve further.
All the best,
Jessee Smith
(in Cincy, where Nature is waking, but has not yet had her coffee)
www.silverspotstudio.com
Cincinnati, OH
thank you Jessee…the state underwater archeologist is very
interested in the beads and is in the process of hooking me up with
another archeologist with expertise in this area. I have had experts
tell me 1700s, 1800s, no earlier than 1920 and no earlier than 1960.
That is quite a range. The Venetian has been “validated” so I find
it hard to believe that 1 bead in the bunch could be old and the rest
new but I know it is possible. I am working on getting to the bottom
of this.
thank you very much, Jerri