In this series of posts I'll try to cover various unrelated things that have been nagging me, or that I happened to come across recently.

Here's a photo I took in 1987 for a lecture on trade beads, showing a variety of Venetian overlay beads, to demonstrate differences in sizes and shapes, as well as manufacture.

The top four rows all have wound beads, red over white, of which the most interesting to me were the rather small beads at the top that are as small as typical drawn beads. Of course, the decorated overlay beads (this is part of a necklace I made in the late '70s) are also very beautiful.

In contrast, the piles of loose beads and the two strands below are typical drawn overlay beads, that Venetians call "cornaline d'Aleppo" beads, and American collectors named "white-heart" beads. The smallest of this type is not included here.

Jamey