The second from the right in your lower photo has what has been described in the past as a 'brecciated' centre (Stef T will tell you by whom - possibly John Picard? - I can't remember). The one with the green, brown, white and blue murrini.

They are not common, even on Venetian beads, but they are a Venetian feature, and this one (at least) looks ok to me, as far as one can tell from a photo. I have several examples (which I can try and find) and Stef has some too.

Carole

Brecciated glass (imitating jasper and found in some millefiori canes) is discussed in my article posted here.

There is no word "murrini." The singular is "murrina," and the plural is "murrine" (three syllables).

At first glance, I would guess that all Rossanna's beads are Venetian, but not necessarily all old. Some may be later editions from Venice--they more resembling beads from the 1950s and later. I would want to see them in real life.

In any event, I have not yet seen any new additions of Chinese reproductions since the first wave from two years ago. As I have remarked, I wonder what happened to that industry (?). I suppose it's possible that they improved the appearance of their beads, and may have made them more authentic-looking. But this would also have to include using glasses that better resemble Venetian glasses (such as the opaque brick-reds). The first-edition Chinese millefiori reproductions were tumbled in abrasives to round-off their edges. Whereas many antique (or older) Venetian beads have sharp ends.

However, we may be coming to a time where these details might be meaningless--and we will have to look for more subtle clues to distinguish beads.

Jamey

If you read Part IV of my series on rosetta beads (Ornament 1983), you will see that it's dedicated to unusual beads—including those from floral-patterned canes. (This was also included in my paper for The Glass Trade Bead Conference, held the previous year and also published in '83). I believe I was the first bead researcher to define and include these beads in the greater scheme of rosetta beads—and to devise names for them. I know I was the first researcher to list the characteristics of rosetta beads, so that they could be compared to one another (for similarity or differences).

At that time, there were painfully few generalizations about these beads. It was recognized that 7-layer beads were early, and later beads had fewer layers. ALL these beads were called "chevron" beads (despite the advice of Brent 100 years earlier). One author even said 'chevron beads are so much alike, they are useless for archaeological dating, because we can't tell one from another.' (Paraphrasing.) I did not believe that was accurate, and began to synthesize a new way of dealing with these issues.

"Rosetta" is the name of the family of beadmaking, and encompasses solid canes (as typically used in millefiori work), and hollow canes (typically used in chevron and similar beads). It is also a handy name for the non-starry canes that resemble flowers. A flower cane yields a "flower bead" (just as a star cane yields a "star bead"). A cut flower bead yields a "scallop bead" (just as a cut star cane yields a "chevron bead"). And other variations are possible and nameable.

I likewise have and have documented the series of "pseudo chevron beads" and "pseudo rosetta beads" made in the early 1990s from solid rosetta canes—including those that featured floral patterns, were cut in the styles of chevron beads, but that required drilling. They are naturally included in my catalogue of rosetta beads—though they form their own particular area. (Until recently, when the Chinese began making "chevron beads." and their beads were routinely drilled from solid canes, over the first editions, whether a "chevron bead" had a drilled perforation or not was not much of an issue—because they were so unusual. Nevertheless, my schemata already included the possibility.)

By the way, there is no Italian word "murrini." The singular is "murrina," and the plural is "murrine" (pronounced "moor-REE-neh"). It's the same with "rosetta" (singular = "ro-SET-tah," and plural = "ro-SET-teh"). Products made from murrine canes (that are not beads) have generally been characterized as "murrine + whatever-they-are" products. For instance "vasa murrine" (a millefiori vessel). The use of this name in conjunction with beads has largely come about due to the naming influence of current American beadmakers. It was not typical in the glass literature before this time—and the "i" ending is incorrect.

Be well. Jamey

JDA.

In these photographs, we can see the ornaments he was offering for sale that afternoon. I have no idea how common it may be for artists to pursue lampworking using imported elements—but this is certainly in contrast to the traditional work that takes place at a furnace, taking glass directly from a crucible, and working it without much in the way of preformed parts.

JDA.