European and Asian Beads

Rare and Collectible Beads

from Piney Hollow



PINEY HOLLOW
427 North 4th Avenue
Tucson, Arizona 85705 USA
520 623-4450
piney-hollow.com

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Index/Home
Africa
North America
Latin America
Europe/Asia
Gallery

Navigation links to our Collectible Bead and Catalog pages.

Rare and Collectible Beads

This web site presents the history and lore of collectible beads from around the world and features a sampling of beads from Piney Hollow's bead museum and retail store catalog. The beads are categorized according to the regions and cultures in which they were traded or produced.
The Diggers (detail) bead work = 5 x 5 inches
Go to the Gallery page to see the full image and
learn more about bead art.




A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
TO BEADS OF EUROPE AND ASIA:
History and Manufacture

Note: Not all described/pictured beads are available.

Collectible beads are often named after the area in which they are best known for having been traded in. For example, the highly decorative glass "African" beads were used in Africa as money for every day items, but they were also traded for expensive comodities including land and slaves. Actually manufactured in Venice, they were also traded in other places, including the western hemisphere.


"EYE" BEADS

Beads depicting eyes have been made for thousands of years and have been used in various cultures. They all have basically the same meaning.

The "Thousand Eye" or "Evil Eye" beads shown here (diameter = 10mm) and have been a staple trade item since the middle of the 1800's. The "eye" bead is a world-wide design and is worn to ward off evil. Psychologists theorize that the "function" of these beads derives from the common human characteristic of being unable to lie or do harm to others while looking them in the eye. These (Venetian) beads are common and are on the lower ring of collectibles.

Roman Eye: Made in the Rumanian colony before and during the time of Christ, the eyes are a design feature to ward off evil. Today, these beads are found mostly in ancient middens.



Roman Glass: Midsize and small plain glass bead strands.






ASIA

Indus River: These batik carnelian beads are listed in the "History of Beads" from 2,500 bc. The process of design has just recently been understood. Found (with some difficulty) today in northern India, Nepal and Tibet.







Near the end of this page you will find more information about the manufacture of beautiful glass beads.



Our Catalog of European and Asian Beads

Rome and India

CREDIT CARD ORDERS ACCEPTED
Prices updated on 16 December 2001

For orders and queries


PINEY HOLLOW
427 North 4th Avenue
Tucson, Arizona 85705 USA
520 623-4450
pineyho@aol.com


Cat. # Bead name/origin Bead Description Bead Size (mm) Strand length (inches) Price (US$)
per strand
R-1 Roman-Romanian colony Large eye beads 15-20 mm 34 in. 2,400.00
R-2 Roman glass small, plain greenish glass 4 mm +/- 24 in. 35.00
R-3 Roman glass medium, plain greenish glass 4-9 mm, graduated 24 in. 50.00
AS-1 Indus River batik cornelian, 2,500 bc varied 20 in. 1,500.00



MORE ABOUT FUSED GLASS BEADS:

Fused glass beads were were popular in certain earlier cultures for trading. They were both colorful and durable, as is demonstrated by their good condition after four centuries. Their value was determined by the number of layers of glass they contained. You can count 5 layers in the chevron bead pictured below (each color is a different layer). The processes for manufacturing the glass beads are interesting. Following is a brief explanation of how chevron and milifiore beads are made.

Chevron beads have been made from the 1500's to present day in Venice. Glass rods are bundled together to make a design. The bundle is then heated until the rods fuse. While still soft, these bundles can be drawn or stretched out, making the rod diameter smaller to meet the size required for the design. After cooling, the single rod is cut to length and ground down to make the combinations of colors show up at the ends of the beads in the familiar star patterns.

Milifiore beads, including those that were used in African Trade, are produced by fusing thin glass rods togther to form intricate designs. After fusion, the rods are broken away to leave small flower-like patterns. A core of glass is then formed and, when very soft, it is rolled over the small flower pieces. Then, the entire bead is again heated to absorb the flowers into the finished bead.

As soon as fused glass bead making techniques were discovered, Venice enacted harsh laws to protect the secret process. Other trading countries were eager to learn how to make them and there were 16th century equivelents of commercial spy organizations to enhance competition.


Visit us during the
Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

If you plan to attend the 2002 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show,
be sure to visit our retail store on 4th Avenue.
We are near the downtown area and other gem show sites.

PINEY HOLLOW
427 North 4th Avenue
Tucson, Arizona 85705 USA
520 623-4450


E-mail us at:
pineyho@aol.com


Use this link to inquire about
Collectible Beads from Piney Hollow.


Visit our Tucson retail store's web site:
http://piney-hollow.com



Web design by Anubis Productions International.
anubis@azstarnet.com


END

Index/Home
Africa
North America
Latin America
Europe/Asia
Gallery

Navigation links to our Collectible Bead and Catalog pages.