Nicole and I also toured the Glass Museum on Murano. Besides a dizzying display of all types of glassware and glass art objects, there was a room with glass bead displays and sample cards. I did not bring my really good camera with me so these are not the best of pictures, but here is a sample of what is in the bead room.
After the museum, we finished our tour of Murano with a visit to a shop of the glass artist Giorgio Bruno, who specializes in glass cats - my other favorite collectible item!
As far as I could determine, the only place in Venice to buy vintage and antique beads is Paropamiso, close to San Marco Square. I spent a good deal of time there, chatting with Michel, and looking through drawers of collectible beads.
Two of the special things I brought home with me are shown. First is a group of oblate beads with the "festoon" or "arcade" decoration. Michel agrees that these are probably from Venice, made sometime in the 19th century, but he also said they have only been found in Iran. So, it is also possible they were made in that area. Currently there is no firm evidence one way or the other. Michel has a pretty good quantity of these beads, in various sizes, colors, and conditions. And not cheap. But, I was happy to add to my collection of these beauties.
Second picture is a carved carnelian melon bead, about 22 mm diameter. I pulled this out of a tray of beads, thinking it was an antique. I have a very similar, somewhat larger one, so I was interested in it. But, Michel told me it was a fairly new production bead from India. That surprised me since I thought mine was an "old" pema raka. I purchased it (not expensive) for comparison to my bead and sure enough, it is almost identical in material and workmanship.
Walking around Venice, it's hard to NOT see beads everywhere - but of course they are new beads and I suspect some at least are being made in China now. A typical window display is shown.
I also went looking for other bead stores that I found listed on the internet in various forums and ads. But, I mostly could not find the addresses, or there was something else at the address besides anything bead-related. Here was one exception - the store was closed, but I was amused to see a sign in English on the door. Looking inside, it appeared to be a store / classroom for seed beading.
The Museo Orientale had a nice room full of cases of nesuke. Only a few intact inro with ojime.
At the Museo del Vetro there were also some fine examples of face and other canes.
In case anyone is interested, there is a copy of the Moretti book for sale, on eBay 282040835603. The price is reasonable but shipping is high. I looked into shipping a few items from Venice while I was there, and there literally isn't any cheap shipping to be found. The eBay seller is Giacomo DeCarlo, who also has published a beautiful book showcasing his extensive Venetian bead collection. I flipped through the book while at Paropamiso, but since it is large and heavy, I decided not to buy it and carry it all around Europe. Also on ebay 281958353114. If you like books on Venetian beads, I highly recommend both!
