| Original Message: Here come the Chinese reproductions (I think) |
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Well, just in time to be educated before the buying frenzy that is Tucson, I purchased a short strand of "antique Venetian trade beads". The photo was not very good but they looked like the real thing. After getting them, I am suspicious that they are Venetian and not new reproductions. Thanks to Floor's excellent article, I think I have ID'd them as Chinese. The evidence - which is hard to show in the photos - they are very uniform in size, the ends are very straight and edges quite sharp, and the surface gloss has been removed in an extremely uniform manner. Not a trace of patina, and one bead has a very new-looking chip. Bottom line, as mentioned by Floor - they just don't "feel" right. To make it worse, the millefiori beads were alternated with vintage Czech beads which were authentic. I am bringing them with me to Tucson to get more opinions, and also for comparison to any other questionable beads. The first photo shows a Venetian bead on the right and the new bead on the left. An excellent job and the new beads really are quite attractive. The second photo shows five other designs on the same strand. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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