| Original Message: I defer to the information added by others |
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The information presented by others in this thread indicate that the beads are likely Venetian in origin. As far as surface treatments on Venetian glass beads - I was in error about tumbling to remove surface gloss from ALL trade beads. In "Ercole Moretti", the book by Gianni Moretti, the nephew of Ercole, two methods are described for finishing beads. Rosetta beads were subjected to a finishing process by tumbling in a barrel with a proprietary sand mixture, resulting in a distinctive satin finish. While not specifically mentioned, the text implies that wound & trail decorated lamp beads were treated in the same way. However millefiori beads (cylinders, elbows, short barrels) were finished by grinding. The ends of many cylinders were ground to an angle as well. Many sample cards with millefiori beads show matte surfaces, not glossy surfaces. According to the Moretti book, the grinding of millefiori beads brought out the designs. The beads were rubbed with oil after grinding to brighten them. Of course there are also plenty of glossy Venetian beads on sample cards. Many of the wedding cake and other similar beads appear to have been left glossy, along with various milles. I've seen a wide range of workmanship on beads from the African trade, but it sounds plausible that the "better" beads were reserved for the European jewelry market. Although my overall impression, based on the collections of people like John Picard, is that starting about 40 years ago, the African trade beads coming into the US were also of very high quality. I surmise that "most" of the best beads have already left Africa and are in the hands of collectors. Maybe that's why it now looks like trade beads are of lower quality than the ones found in Europe. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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