I'm rather confident of my source, that the beads did come from Borneo and in 1967, as there were many money objects in what I bought from him, all believably described on the home-made guarantee cards, and I have dealt in such currencies from not much later than1967 to present. I am a relative newby on beads, but I do have some outside opinions on the strand, and am confident that the great majority are Venetian. What impresses me is that an assembly of Venetian beads from outside of the Africa trade would be different enough to raise controversy. I know that not being able to see the ends is a severe handicap, and in-hand vs on-screen a great advantage, when forming opinions. I've been very impressed with (and fooled by) the few old and new Indonesian beads I've seen, usually misrepresented to me as Venetian by two unscrupulous Africa Traders. I'd like to learn more about this bead tradition.

My interest in beads (other than commercial) is focused on where and why particular types were traded, and is informed by a study of (primarily) Asian, and "traditional" (non-coin) monies. Despite the decrees, beheadings, behandings and other strenuous efforts of both native rulers and conquerors, people have been remarkably particular and obstinate in what money they will take, and their preferences are not always dictated by reason or commercial concerns - superstition, rumor, and tradition played huge roles. The Authority factor in bead dispersal would be quite different than for money, and aesthetics a big additional element. What I was looking for in posting this strand was some speculation on, or references to, the practices, preferences, beliefs, etc. that would have influenced the family(?) that assembled this group, or reflected on their standing.

Also I think it's important to retain and share images, at least, of relatively well provenanced groups to help researchers shed light on these questions. Since getting the strand a few years ago, and having some knowledgeable Traders weigh in on it, I've looked particularly at Trader offerings and found some overlap including, I think, what Beadman calls Lukut Sekala type. But the non-overlap types, and the lack of recognition by some posters, underscores for me that quite a lot is going on here in terms of the different demands between the two markets. Just as between European beads produced for African vs European sale.