i consult for an auction house in UK - they recompense me for the work,- however they rarely add my descriptions correctly!
anyway i still like the job because i regularly get to see and inspect a lot of images of extraordinary beads, and personally, regardless of inaccuracies i'm still learning from looking closely at many bead items-
and as you say, if the descriptions are wild and wacky, or rather dull, there's still a chance to discover amazing things sometimes at low prices-

The caliber of companies who advertise through Live Auctions, is lower than the "big auction houses." Which is to say their descriptions are usually poor. But even the big auction houses make similar mistakes. They do it with a classier-looking presentation.

I have written to any of these on some occasions, to inform them of mistaken identification, poor/incorrect wording, bad dating, and outright frauds (in which new reproductions are offered as antiquities).

I never receive a reply, and the auctions are practically never pulled nor corrected.

Nevertheless, one has to wonder if the issue is a typo. Perhaps the writer meant to say "enamel or glass." Some auction companies are grounded in old outmoded ideas that they keep alive and going. A hundred years ago, "glass" was typically transparent and virtually colorless. Highly-colored glass was referred to as "enamel." A necklace of beads with both types would have to have both descriptive words. OR, perhaps the writer was saying 'I don't know how to distinguish between enamel and glass.'

Note that auction houses also keep-alive the misnomer "glass paste." A hundred years ago, this was a translation of pate de verre—a specific practice for making wet-packed powderglass artifacts. But what the auction houses are doing is sneaky. They use the term "glass paste" to imply that (whatever the item is), it is a "special sort of glass." And this is to elevate those piece to a higher level, where they will command more respect than does "ordinary glass." And they do this to get higher bids. Because this stuff is, in fact, just ordinary conventional hot-worked glass.

JDA.

At yard sales ,( frequently) and in flea markets , (sometimes )one can hear : vous savez , c'est de la pâte de verre ! that's glass paste - Finally , these are glass beads , from Europe ( old ) or newly made from Asia . In the mind of some french people , glass is for drink ( drinking glass or bottle ) and glass paste ( pate de verre ) is for artistic artefacts - Nowadays the confusion is maintained , as you say

Dear Petrus,

What you suggest may be true. Entirely true—regarding the French. However the use of "glass paste" rather than merely "glass" is a practice of auction houses that present artifacts in English. And I think they present "glass paste" for exactly the reasons I mention.

Be well. Jamey

Found this on that Auction site being touted
as Early Trade Bead necklace Oklahoma

Question aren't those Egyptian Faience beads with some Mali Nila/Roman? glass beads, etc.

Did the Egyptians make it to Oklahoma

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/74801431_early-trade-bead-necklace-oklahoma#&gid=1&pid=1

All of these beads appear to be Egyptian faience.

So, not trade beads at all.

But many people think that just about any beads can be called "trade beads." Which, of course, totally destroys the usefulness of the term.

There might be a lot of ways a strand of ancient faience beads might wind up in Oklahoma. But not from terribly long ago.

The beads recovered at the Mali digs are not "Roman"; but are from the Islamic Period. None included here.

Jamey

If you look very carefully you will see several Nila beads mixed in:

(second row from top if you see it as 4 rows ) or-bottom most loop from clasp-5th bead, 10th bead, etc.

As you know Nila beads often have distinctive lines and a certain look, etc. Enlarge it and please look again. (in your free time, lol)

"Early Trade bead Necklace, Oklahoma"
I thought they were inferring these were DUG BEADS from Oklahoma or "Found" in Oklahoma and why Oklahoma was inserted in the listing...

As you know too many times African made Krobo granular glass beads or something totally NOT in context are in some Riker Box display labeled as Dug Trade Beads Native American. Thus the post.

Also as one example [in error] of Nila=Roman glass beads I give you one Rita Okrent, (RIP), who absolutely describes (or maybe someone handling her Estate) her Nila Mali excavated beads as"Rare Bright Blue Roman Glass Excavated Ancient Nila Beads, Djenne, Mali".

https://ritaokrent.com/products/rare-bright-blue-ancient-excavated-nila-beads-djenne-mali-at0617

Peter Francis in "Asia's Maritime Bead Trade 300 BC to Present" has a nice discussion on Nila and suggests either made in the Middle-East or heat altered Indo-Pacific: Pg. 228: #26 CLICK ON TO ENLARGE (IMGUR)

Page on Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=zzZBdGQN_TIC&pg=PA228&lpg=PA228&dq=where+are+nila+mali+beads+from&source=bl&ots=e--qSAmdiS&sig=ACfU3U2-AaGhT2QVGGzkbJwj1vhvl5nbQA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiE3u71z5LkAhXtqlkKHVBsCto4ChDoATAKegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=where%20are%20nila%20mali%20beads%20from&f=false

GTK the Nila is Islamic and not Roman. I have actually tried to look that up with no luck as Roman Beads=Nila is a widely disseminated misunderstanding. Thanks.

Hello Anne. There are quite a few dialogues here that concern nila beads. Here's one from 2006 that turned into a somewhat heated debate.

I believe I can be rightly credited as the first bead researcher to propose that burial beads from Niger River sites in Mali are not "Roman," but rather date from the Islamic Period. As early as 1983. In 1986 I attempted to convince Lois Dubin to not place them at CE 500. But we agreed to disagree. In the meantime, when we worked on the 2009 edition of The History of Beads, they were placed at CE 1200—which would be more accurate. So eventually I convinced her. Mali beads were also described as being from the Islamic Period by Agusto Panini in his book, Middle Eastern and Venetian Glass Beads, by reference to my work in this arena, in 2008.

As I have said numerous times, reliable information about beads is readily available—but mythology and mistaken ideas get promoted faster and more widely by people who ae not informed.

I can't view the auction you posted, because the link now shows a necklace of (mainly) Mali millefiori eye beads. The image I saw previously was a strand of typical Egyptian burial beads—these being cylindrical and discoidal faience beads, and no glass beads. See the screenshot here.

Jamey

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/openforum/&cmd=iYz&aK=50472&iZz=50472&gV=0&kQz=&aO=1&iWz=0

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/openforum/&cmd=iYz&aK=43393&iZz=43393&gV=0&kQz=&aO=1&iWz=0

Separating Chinese furnace-wound beads, from their lampwork beads.

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/openforum/&cmd=iYz&aK=49607&iZz=49607&gV=0&kQz=&aO=1&iWz=0

But I love seeing all the other Pics especially of the Chinese beads as I have some Old beads probably Chinese black white and blue Mini- Mala I'm about to post and query on..
TY Bead Mon!

Hi, I am just catching up on this thread. I really appreciate the edits to our descriptions as we have a lot of old inventory and I don't always get it right. I don't really love being the public example though of mistakes in this forum. Please contact me in the future via our website when you see errors so I can edit items immediately.
thanks!
Jocelyne Okrent
owner
Rita Okrent Collection