| Original Message: The most famous lacemakers' bead - 'Kitty Fisher's Eyes' |
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The most famous named lacemaker's bead is that which english lacemakers have called 'Kitty Fisher's eyes' since the 18th century (oral traditions passed down from generation to generation) and a bead does have to have specific details to be called by that name - translucent white base with opaque white eyes, with two blue-pupil eyes alternating with one pink one. Shades of blue and pink can vary, as can the translucent white background colour, but general colour scheme is always the same. See attached image of five different ones probably dating from the late 18th to the mid-late 19th century. The smallest is 6-7mm diameter (late 18th century) and the largest is 15-16mm diameter. They are all Venetian. This bead was NOT made by english beadmakers, but it was actively selected by english lacemakers who gave it the nickname. There are Venetian beads with black, blue etc backgrounds and the same general eye pattern as on the translucent white ones. These, however, according to the oral tradition are NOT 'Kitty Fisher's eyes' beads, but they do occur frequently on 19th century lace bobbin spangles as a decorated Venetian bottom bead with no particular name. Oral tradition is a powerful tool in the study of social history and bead naming in this way began in the mid 18th century as a lacemaker's "joke" - something to relieve the boredom of working 14-16 hours at a lace pillow in poor light for small pay. Kitty Fisher was a real person - a high class courtesan who was paid very highly for her favours by aristocratic patrons. She was also married to a member of parliament (sleaze isn't modern!) and died young at the age of 28 in 1767. She was a very well known public figure, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and the naming of a bead after her was like naming a life jacket after Mae West in WWII - a humourous nickname which has stuck and been passed on by lacemakers for nearly 250 years. Some of the oral traditions concerning bead names and colours (including this most famous bead) were written down at the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th century. Carole All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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