Re: A Very Unusual Chevron Bead
Re: Re: Re: A Very Unusual Chevron Bead -- JP Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: Beadman Post Reply
05/29/2021, 15:03:24

Hello J & R.

Thank you for your reply, and for showing the cross-section view.

I'm glad to know the second layer is "black"/purple. I wondered.

Seeing the cross section, it is clear that after the white layer, a red stripe was trailed onto each point. This was not apparent to me from the side views.) Notice that each one has beed pressed enough to flatten the trail, and also the points of the starry layer below. (Except for one point, where the red stripe is slightly misplaced to the side of the point.)

It is certainly possible (as Art suggests) that from this procedure the fourth teal layer was flashed on. But, in any event, since we can see this covers the red internal stripes (where the exterior is intact), this is its full external fourth layer—even though it's very thin over the red stripes.

So, then, I suppose the thin yellow stripes were added to the exterior blue. Reviewing the side-view photos from you original post, I am supposing there were originally twelve thin yellow stripes, and these were placed onto the teal layer, spaced between the internal red stripes—though all but two have been ground-away during the bead shaping. I notice the yellow stripes are slightly sunken-in. But I would attribute this to the yellow glass being more firm than the teal, to which it was applied—which would be the case if these were merely preformed rods (and not trails).

When we see a fairly large drawn bead, it is not unusual for that segment of cane to be slightly tapered, and for one aperture to be larger than the other. We see this among many large early 7-layer chevron beads. This typically indicates that those particular beads were made from pieces collected from near the ends of the pull. This need not have been a short pull. There could easily have been hundreds of smaller beads, derived from a long cane. Nevertheless, since this particular pattern is very rare, I couldn't speculate whether the gather was small, making a sort cane, or not.

I think it is very likely that this bead relates to other chevron beads you have documented—some of which came from the Heide Collection. They are joined together by having translucent teal layers, and external stripes of various colors and arrangements. (Luigi made a reproduction cane inspired by one of these.) I am inclined to place these in the early 20th C., when Moretti was already making conventional 4-layer and 6-layer beads. Not that these teal beads were necessarily made by Moretti. It is very possible that another glassmaker produced these canes to have a product that differed from Moretti work. (This would be for contrast, and to not been seen as "appropriating" the work of a competing colleague.)

JDA.



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