| Original Message: Actually, the framework is there... |
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How about the timelines? Meanwhile, it's really all about Origin, Material, and Technique. Make a catalogue analogous to a stamp or coin catalogue and you got your framework. Add in details like the major descriptors -- shape, size, color, decoration. Slice and dice according to knowledge and need. Put in chronological order under each Origin, like a timeline. Put pet names and metaphysics in footnotes. Make it kind of like the Linnaean binomial system. You can thank van der Sleen for bringing the "thought" this far. And don't forget Byrd's "Beadmonger" guide. At a minimum, the "skunk" beads of this thread are "Venetian-Glass-Wound" 19-20th century. Thousands of things fit this ID, so you start slicing and dicing according to the major descriptors. It's a big job, of course, but at least people should refer to beads in a structured way, instead of with ephemeral neologisms. All this was discussed years ago, of course. For practical purposes, it's probably better to update Byrd and have some fun. Just think if the 16,000 images on this site could at least be searched according to standardized Origins, Materials, and Techniques. Is this not what people ask for when they want an ID? All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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