| Original Message: Re: Afghan Glass Beads |
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June 2022. I first encountered these beads in 2008 at Jatajak Market in Bangkok, Thailand. They were being offered as "old beads from Afghanistan." It was very clear to me that these were frankly new glass beads—but I was very interested to know whether they were made in Afghanistan (which would be news) or if they were actually from Indonesia (which I considered to be possible). I would have bought some at the time, but they were expensive (being frankly new, and offered with a fake story). I tried to get a local friend to make a deal, and acquire a sample collection for me—but that did not happen. Eventually, I did buy one at Tucson from an Afghan seller. This price was better, but still high for a new glass bead. And since that I time I have been in-communication with a gentleman who says he operates the factory in Afghanistan, where new glass and agate beads are being manufactured. The agate beads are alarming—since they are very decent copies of Harappan carnelians from 4,500 years ago. (They are slightly "jazzy" but well-within keeping for that corpus of beads. And I believe I first saw the Afghan carnelians in a private collection some fifteen years ago—ALSO being misrepresented as "ancient.") I had to contemplate all this for a long time. (Years.) Because the copies were sooooo good, it seemed impossible they could be fakes. But, on the other hand, they were presented in matched sets, and looked very "fresh." So now, thanks to my informant, I understand that both glass and agate beads are being skillfully-made in Afghanistan. JDA. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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