| Original Message: "Ancient Roman Glass" |
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Every so often, someone posts a question about the recycled bangle-beads, that are routinely sold as "ancient Roman," that have been made in Pakistan over the past (about) ten years. This past year, a new wrinkle (I suspect from the same makers), is many, many strands of "ancient Roman glass" pieces, pierced and strung into necklaces. The story is similar: "old broken Roman bottles [not bracelets, in this instance], reworked into beads and pendants." I first saw these last year at the BABE Show in Oakland, where the going price was about $25 per strand. (Quite a good price, considering the work involved and the supposed age of the material.) Of course, I am more inclined to believe the glass is not nearly so old..., and I suspect it may be so recent as to require artificial aging to make it appear decayed and/or iridescent. At the Manning House show, I was told a seller had these strands for $250. (!). That's ten times the going price.... I was fortunate to talk to Steve Dunning, at the Quality Inn, who had them for the standard $25. Nevertheless, when asked, I told Steve I did not believe the story connected with these necklaces—as mentioned here. Steve said he would now call them "old glass"—which is good enough for me. JDA. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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