| Original Message: Tumbling, Trade and European sophistication |
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Either Venetian or incredible good copies, is your evaluation of the strand in discussion? That they are older Indonesian beads is not even an option? On tumbling: Venetian beads were tumbled, you say. What kind of beads, at what time, for which market and for what reason? With an annual output of 300 to 700 tons of beads (= 30 to 60 million pc on the basis of 10 gr./bead) in Venice between ca. 1750 and 1920 tumbling - especially on a significant scale - must have been technically demanding, if even just "some" of them were surface-altered. Yes, Venetian beads were left in their original fire-polished shine. Not only for the jewellery-markets of Europe and others parts of the world, but also for the trade with Africa (West and beyond). Their natural, fire-polished shine came for free, so to speak, and was one integral part of their appeal. Tumbling for reasons of enhanced or alternating beauty, was not known to me. (Bead) Trade: Evidence for worldwide (bead) trade is plentyful. Dutch East India Company, English East India Company, the Slave Trading Houses of Liverpool and elsewhere are good references - not to mention the hundreds of books on worldwide trade. What we call globalisation today has already begun 300-400 years ago, as far as organized world-wide trade is concerned. Trading on a world-wide stage took already place during Roman times and earlier. Back to the strand in question: To say that none of the beads on our strand had been tumbled, is a save statement. Their patina breathes non-tumbled authenticity and was caused by age and wear as heirlooms in Indonesia. To devide your assumption between Venice and modern copies from Indonesia for the beads on the strand in discussion is a risky one, because it does not seem to be in sync with observation - photo or otherwise. Regarding Venetian beads meant for the European jewellery-trade in Venice's main external European market, England - in comparison to those of "same" or simelar designs traded to Africa, I like to add that those for European consumption are visibly of higher quality (pers. observation of many strands I've inspected and those that are part of my collection of non-Africantrade beads from Venice). The ones traded to Africa between ca. 1750 and 1920 (often via Liverpool and through traders in London) - though of same shape, color and design - lack the same care-for-detail and a general sophistication of those meant for an inner-European customership. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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