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Hi Nancy, This is a big can of worms.... In the early 80s when I first became involved, most trade beads didn't have names. The round black ones with white dots were simply referred to as "eye" beads. I didn't get on the internet until 1999, and it was funny to discover that these beads had turned into "skunks"! They look nothing like skunks! But the internet sure does perpetuate all sorts of misinformation... Keeping in mind that bead names are totally unofficial, subjective and for the primary convenience of marketing, I don't know about the usefulness of such a catalog. For example, the design referred to by some folks as "peace" as in the peace sign, looks more like the Mercedes Benz symbol than a peace sign, so I would rather call them Mercedes Millefiori. Or, how about "tri-color murrine"? But why do we have to name them at all? And my opinion is just as valid as anyone else's. Another example of the problematic aspects of names is how so many sellers refer to any and every white heart bead as a "Hudson's Bay" white heart. This "name" is often used by sellers who want to imply that the white heart bead they are trying to sell was North American traded, and marketed by the Hudson's Bay Company. NA traded beads sell for multiples more money than their identical African traded counterparts. When in truth, the overwhelming majority of white hearts were made in Venice for the African trade, and were never bought or sold by the Hudson's Bay Company. So we see why "Hudson's Bay" is a popular descriptive to tack on to the name "white heart". All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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