Thanks! A member of my local bead group, a latin professor, has placed a bid. I hope she wins them - if so I will post the progress as she uses them to create a fabulous necklace for herself.
Joy in Utah
My Utah bead group friend won this auction!! She is a USU professor - teaches ancient history & languages, member of the Plutarch society, etc. She plans to create something bluesey (is that a word?) with them. I will share the progress!
My bead group friend and distinguished professor of ancient history and languages has received the beads and is planning to create something with them at our monthly bead meeting/dinner a week from Monday (if she can hold out that long). She sent this photo of her initial contemplative thoughts. Advice?
Here is an another interesting link:
http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/openforum/&cmd=get&cG=6383830333&zu=3638383033&v=2&gV=0&p=
(11/30/2009 09:54:38 from Shukgirl)
And in Stefany Tomalin's latest book "Beads - a history and collector's guide" on page 6 you will find a picture of these beads with the text: "Ëighteenth-century Italian Maiolica -glazed pottery beads, bearing Latin mottos".
I liked the ones that were offered on ebay very much and I would have done a serious bid but the shipping costs for this item from the USA to Europe were (as usual) extremely high.
Nel
I suspect the "18th C." is much too early for these beads—though it's possible they may have been made for an extended period (for all I know). But it should be considered that these beads usually come in groups of four because they were used as weights in the corners of square table cloths. They are not "spindle whorls." JDA.
P.S. I think the price (not including shipping) was too high. It is not as though these are rare desirable beads. Their niche-value is limited. But sellers at eBay usually want a higher price than is warranted.
I can't argue the "desirability" aspect of this bead, but I have watched for them for several years and only seen maybe 3 eBay offerings. However, I am searching for Majolica beads and there may have been more for sale that were not titled this way.
Seemingly, majolica Latin inscribed beads seldom surface. My forty years of experience watching for them is limited by their scarcity.
The eight sold on ebay for one forth of the highest price I would have expected to pay -far less than I have ever experienced. Congratulations.
Thanks to Rosanna and this board I was able to alert Dr Titchener of the auction! And yes, we were very happy to see the ending price. It was a fun experience for us both, texting each other from opposite sides of campus in the final minutes and slamming in that final (substantially higher) bid as the clock ticked down. So exciting! It will make a great story at bead night next week. And the beads are perfect for her - for several very significant reasons. She will wear them proudly and lovingly.
