Unknown Origins
Collectors and cultural hobbyists are quick to ask about the authenticity of the Paiwan beads. Where do the ancient Paiwan beads come from? How old are they? How are they made? Some scholars suggest that it was the ancestors of the Paiwan who brought the beads with them to Taiwan. Ethnographer Chen Chi-lu notes that analysis of the old beads reveals they contain lead but no barium, placing their origin within southeast Asia. The beads might thus date the arrival of the Paiwan people to Taiwan since similar beads are found in other areas of southeast Asia but not among any of the other tribes of Taiwan. This suggests the Paiwan arrived on Taiwan after ceramic and glass beads were already widely circulated in southeast Asia.
To date, researchers have found no record of the significant technology which would have been required to manufacture beads on the island. So it seems unlikely that the beads of Paiwan royalty would have been manufactured on Taiwan. Others offer that the Paiwan beads came from Europe as archaeological records increasingly suggest early exchange between Europe and Southeast Asia. The beads may also have been a currency of trade with European merchants during early colonial expansion as researchers have noted aborigine cultures in northern Borneo that have similar beads. This would suggest that the Paiwan may be descendants of Borneo aborigines, who may have carried glass beads with them across the oceans arriving in Taiwan between the 13th and 15th centuries AD.
Alternatively, Paiwan glass beads may have had their origin in Holland. The Dutch possess similar bead designs and scholars have recorded oral Paiwan histories relating that the glass beads came from the "Balaca" - a Paiwan name for the Dutch who occupied Taiwan in the seventeenth century. There are Dutch records of trade with Taiwan aborigines at the time specifically noting ceramic and glass beads. Whatever their mysterious origin, the beads that Paiwan nobility have passed down through the generations were not made in Taiwan and the technique of their manufacture was lost or unknown to the Paiwan.

The paragraphs above from: http://indigenous.pristine.net/perspectives/umass/index_en.html

Other links:
http://kinghousewares.blogspot.com/2013/06/legends-behind-paiwan-ceramic-beads.html

http://tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=221

http://culture.teldap.tw/culture/index.php?option=com_content&id=805

The individual beads types have names and are used in Paiwan tribal ceremonies. This 8 part series names the beads and shows drawings of them.

Legends of the beads of the Paiwan tribe:

Part 1: http://ns1.z-win.com/tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=221

Part 2: http://ns1.z-win.com/tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=222

Part3: http://ns1.z-win.com/tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=223

Part4: http://ns1.z-win.com/tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=224

Part5: http://ns1.z-win.com/tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=225

Part 6: http://ns1.z-win.com/tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=226

Part 7: http://ns1.z-win.com/tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=227

Part 8: http://ns1.z-win.com/tribe-asia.com/index.php?option=com_zwin_combo&act=featurearticlesshow§ion=2&catid=20&itemid=228

This is another case of inaccurate description and bad photo... I bought it anyway. The price was very good so worth taking a chance. Maybe I'l be lucky.

It's an area I know nothing about but have always admired the image in "Collectible Beads"... please follow up when you receive the beads.

The beads I purchased are currently wandering around the USA courtesy of the post office, but have finally begun heading in my direction. In the meantime here are a couple of BCN discussions from the past about Paiwan beads. I was going to share them later, but here they are for now.

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/openforum/&cmd=iYz&aK=61607&iZz=61607&gV=0&kQz=&aO=1&iWz=0

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/openforum/&cmd=get&cG=9303636373&zu=3930363338&v=2&gV=0&p=

They are reproduction Paiwan beads. I see red clay in the holes. The beads are solid colored glass with stringer trailed decoration. The ends are ground. The orange and yellow tile beads are wound glass. The spacers are made of shell and are all white on one side and speckled on the reverse. Strung on cotton twine, choker length.

They appear to have solid colored glass cores which are ground to shape prior to decoration. The overglaze color appear applied with a fine syringe. The applied colors are a thin layer. The feathering is partly applied in that shape, partly pushed, but just a little bit.

EDIT: The decoration is actually stringer glass, applied while the glass is hot under a glass torch. I don't know how the matte surface finish is achieved.

please explain -i'd be very interested to see colours being applied "with a syringe".
do you really mean molten glass,
or a mix, or an emulsion, with finely ground opaque coloured glass or powdered enamels in the mixture?
it would then have to be heated to melt, not just sinter, and risk dropping off the cylindrical bead surface .
was this done only in that part of the World?

Stefany, I think they are cold decorated with fire-on enamel type glazes, or some other type of overglaze that is fired on in a second heating process. It could be brush applied, but to me looks like syringe application of a finely ground liquified glaze material. That's how it looks.

I might be able to research more. I encountered one article about makers of reproductions, but don't know if it is this particular manufacturer.

If it was trailed stringer glass as we see in Venetian beads, there would be thickness, even texture, of the applied decoration. This material flows slightly and creates a thin clean line. Interesting actually, I am not familiar with the process.

EDIT: Apparently they DO use glass stringer. Please see the next post.

i thought not!
using any kind of overglaze/mix is a non-starter as it just could not adhere evenly to the cylindrical curved surfaces during firing. the trail-decorated bead can be marvered smooth and flush and also possibly ground smooth if really required... however i also doubt that any of the beads are ceramic despite the illustration caption:

"Pottery and glazed beads with Paiwan Tribe motifs, Dragonfly Studio, Taiwan.jpg"

One of the links is the story of the founder of Dragonfly Studios. He tells of his discovery that the material is glass. Opaque colored glass is confusing to many people who call it ceramic or clay.

I think my beads are from this company.

Sorry about my own confusion. I should have looked more carefully.

These look similar to my beads:
http://richmatheson.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Paiwan/G0000lox3q4WO_fk/I0000wgXNCpc0BeM/C0000U92Asbq0A8c/

The photographer's entire series about glass bead manufacturing. Shows glass stringer.

http://richmatheson.photoshelter.com/gallery/Paiwan/G0000lox3q4WO_fk/0/C0000U92Asbq0A8c

http://library.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2012/gsh7083/b303.htm

The shell spacers are nifty as well.

there is a message from Birdi sent in 2017 shows some of the Taiwan beads

there is a message from Birdi sent in 2017 shows some of the Taiwan beads