GLASS BEADS - The glass beads in this collection of Pyu beads included typical Indo-Pacific beads, such as might be found from any of some twelve locations in India/Southeast Asia--of which two or three would be local (Thailand and Vietnam). So, their appearance here is not surprising.

We have already discussed the glass copies of green-stone beads, and the prismatic beads that resemble tourmaline or aquamarine crystals. Below are two glass beads that are "collared." They have small protrusions on each end. Some similar glass beads were hot-pinched or constricted, to form the collars, and some were cut to shape. The collared bead is typical of numerous specimens recovered at Taxila, India, from sites dating near Roman times. It is not a stretch to assume that Indian specimens went to Burma, and incited a local tradition. So, the recovered beads probably include imported and local specimens.

I hope this has been interesting. In a future essay I will discuss the Pyu beads that were brought out of Burma after 1988.

All of the above images are copyrighted by Jamey D. Allen, 2005. They may be harvested for personal use, but not for any other use without written permission.

Jamey D. Allen