| Original Message: Bringing things into focus by comparison~ |
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Linda, I respect your aptitude for bead research because you are highly trained and skilled as an artist. Having spent forty something years focusing on Japanese and Chinese beads, I wish you were able to handle first hand all of the antique beads which have gone through my hands between one million miles of air travel -especially on the trail of the elusive ojime. If you study the two beads carefully, eventually you will see a vast difference in quality of glass and technique. Sometimes, it seems that Japanese artists have captured the concept and construction of Chinese art mediums and raised them to their highest form of artistic expression. However, the Chinese economy may eventually enable Chinese bead connoisseurs to reclaim their long artistic heritage. During the time period the exquisite Japanese glass ojime were made for inro, the Chinese were capable of making elegant glass beads in the Japanese style. But the finest Chinese craftsmen were focusing on snuff bottles instead. Maybe some of the Japanese glass ojime were actually made by Chinese craftspersons? But I doubt a Japanese craftsperson would have made beads for the Chinese Yunnan market. And, who can be absolutely certain? Historians often feel forced to neatly arrange things into compartmented boxes. At best, historians offer educated opinions. And when you disagree, you are probably going to learn more than most collectors. But be extremely careful not to offend. We can always study the type of glass used. And we can make generalizations based upon size. One fourth of an inch is a huge difference when it comes to miniature art forms, such as beads. The perforation on a Chinese bead is proportionately smaller and crude in comparison with the himotoshi -hole- in a Japanese ojime. For proper function as a slide closure, the aperture of an ojime is almost always proportionately larger in comparison with nearly every other bead. And no, I have not saved images of Yunnan women wearing baby carriers with such large heavy beads. Ojime are my specialty; Yunnan glass beads are not. However, there is agreement between those of us who have spent a lot of time searching for beads in Southeast Asia. It is well known that Yunnan is where this type of bead was used most often. Although there are odd examples of usage elsewhere, odd examples are insufficient evidence of common usage. One of your benefits when challenging specialists is that you force them to teach you the things you think you want to know. Taking you where you want to go quicker. And now, you may want to properly research and write a paper on the Yunnan Baby Carrier beads. Somebody needs to do it. Wishing you all the best in 2018 and always, Fred All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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