| Original Message: Re: Agate Beads Found In Southwest China |
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Dear 999, For over 2000 years, the majority of agate and quartz beads have been made in India, and traded around the (known) world. This is not to say that there was no local hard-stone beadmaking in many places—including, of course, China. But Chinese beads should be distinct to China, and will (usually/generally) not look like beads from other industries. This is because local material differs, techniques differ, and art sense differs. The beads you are showing look very much like beads from India—and I would guess that that is what they are. Whether they date from between the 10th and 12 centuries (encompassing the Liao dynasty) is anyone's guess, but it would not be my guess. I think this is probably too early for the present beads. I would call your attention to the form of these beads—that they are faceted or prismatic. In my mind, faceting is a foreign shape, in relation to Chinese preferences. I would like to see any examples of faceted stones from China, also dissimilar from any from India. If your beads are actually from China and the Liao Dynasty (that is recovered from there and from that time), I would still have to think they are imported from India. But there is every possibility they are just Indian beads that have been misidentified as to time and origin. Jamey All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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