It`s only glass by Maike Valcarcel
When I tell a client that these necklaces are made out of glass beads
I often get the reply: oh, it`s only glass. Then why is it so expensive?
This is why:
They have history! Some of them are thousands of years old,
some have travelled and changed hands more than we can even imagine, some took lot of skill and time to make, some were used as money, some were traded against gold, slaves and ivory, some have supernatural powers.
They are a microcosm of historical and cultural information.
They are beautiful!
Millefiori beads – the technique was invented in the first millennium A.D. in Asia, and then revived in Venice about 400 years ago and to go into detail about the process would fill a couple of pages….
Left: Naga beads from the Naga tribe in India
Middle: Egyptian beads: these turquoise, lapis and carnelian beads were found in Egyptian tombs and could be around 2000 years old. The bone pendant is a symbol for fertility.
Right :“Fake coral” – I got these beads from Jemen. They are a substitute for those who couldn`t afford the real corals
Wind trade beads: up to 500 years old, coming from India and were shipped to Africa by Chinese, Indian and Arabic merchants, who sailed with the monsoon winds
A new version of millefiori bead- not quite the same!
Do you still think this is only glass?
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