| Original Message: Re: Decorated Carnelian Striped Beads |
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It would be best if the designation "etched" were dropped from our vocabulary for these beads—unless it's placed in quotes (to express that the name is incorrect). Cylindrical/long-barrel pale carnelian beads with discrete white stripes are fairly common among beads from the Greater Himalayan region. Those from my collections are mostly from Nepal. Attached is the chart presented by Horace Beck in 1933, showing the decorated agate (mostly carnelian) beads he had documented. The specimens are divided into three periods. You can see that beads with horizontal stripes were known to date from the Early and Middle Periods. Now, I am reasonably certain they would also be included in the Late Period (and more-recent period, if there were such a thing). I would say these beads are ca. 2,000 years old + or -. I don't know of a name for the conical beads, though I am very familiar with them; and they probably derive from the Late Period (and more recently). I think one of your beads has natural banding (lower right) (You can see a similar bead in my Plate III.) But it is very likely that all of these beads have, at least, been heat-treated. I suppose the bead above it is more-likely also chemically decorated. But this is difficult to be certain of from a small photo. JDA. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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