Wrong Continent?
Re: Re: ID Please -- Donna C. Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: Beadman Mail author
05/30/2006, 06:49:18

Hello Donna,

As near as I know, oblate (or flatter) horn beads that imitate amber are limited to Africa, and come to us primarily from East Africa, and to a lesser extant Ghana (as the beads Evelyn showed in your link).

Since the question beads are from Nepal, it is fairly unlikely they are horn. Glass or plastic are far more likely. However, a basic tool for identification is to determine material—and anyone asking a question (ideally) ought to be able to say the material is "relatively hard" (Like glass), or relatively soft (like plastic). That would help a lot. (Nancy?)

There are horn beads made in India that imitate regional amber beads. Specifically, they copy the typical Burmese Hill Tribe amber beads that came into the marketplace in the early 1980s. However, their shapes are long slightly tapered cylinders and wedge-shaped disks—like the prototypes. The specimens I have have been tinted red or reddish, and so are quite different from the beads in question, all around.

Jamey



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