Are the speckled beads in the necklace I own Chinese?

They fall into two types - one with blue crumbs, the other with predominantly green. The crumbs in both types seem to be fragments of cane. The beads with blue crumbs also have tiny bits of aventurine cane.

I did some rather rocky photos comparing these beads with a strand of what I am told was determined to be "Boshan" glass beads. These also have tiny speckles of aventurine.

Thoughts?

That's all I know about these - harvested the pix from Etsy once upon a time

Evidently Chinese, appear in a number of contexts -

Brass canister finial.

A necklace I own with what appear to be antique Chinese twisted wire cloisonne beads.

C1930s stye necklace with what appears to be a Chinese filigree clasp.

It is very easy to conclude both necklaces were made by the same hands. Suggesting this was production work by some company.

A photo of the strand I just acquired, since I just edited it.

JDA.

Look very Venetian, as in this necklace. Copies? An accidental part of the necklace mix?

Albeit not as well rounded.

One "beachball"? (upper right)

Hello Chris,

First, I devised the name "beach ball" for a class of pseudo-millefiori beads, made in Japan. Nevertheless I see your point in this context.

When I went to China in 1997, I was surprised to find that there was a class of hot-pinched overlay beads (dull red or brownish-over-yellow), that seemed to be imitations of Venetian overlay beads—though the Venetian beads are wound, and the Chinese beads are drawn. I had previously documented Boshan beads that on the surface seemed to be identical, but turned out to also be wound or drawn (though all acquired together). These were translucent red glass.

So it is clear the Boshan makers produced hot-pinched glass beads.

In the strand I just acquired, the single drawn bead present is the specimen you pointed-out. The base is white, with four superficial stripes, being: red, blue, yellow, and green. The red and blue stripes are wide and abutt each other. The yellow and green stripes are thin and flanked by the white base glass.

By the way, four years ago I bought a large striped hot-pinched Boshan bead, that I suppose was inspired by a German marble bead (though by comparison it is not well-made).

Regarding the striped beads you show, that have avventurina ribbons outlined in white, on a black base—these may resemble drawn hot-pinched beads, but, since Venetians made very few (if any) hot-pinched beads, these are not that. Rather, they are wound and ribbon-trailed—and each of the stripe units has been added to the bead; and the shape was eventually rounded by constriction (more at one end than the other), and compression. In these ways the beads resemble "late a-speo beads" (though a-speo beads are primarily drawn beads, manipulated to become rounded, or whatever shape is desired).

JDA.

BTW, do any of your beads display those tiny aventurine cane chips?
I was surprised to find them in Chinese beads, I guess.

In the 1970s I was shown a strand of (I think) 108 Chinese avventurina beads, that I suppose were furnace-wound from imported Venetian "cakes." In retrospect, I suppose now they may have been Boshan beads. (But at that time I had not yet heard of Boshan.)

It is clear that Venetians exported glass for the use of foreign industries—and I'm inclined to think that colors, such as bright red, may have been included and exploited for Boshan beadmaking.

Offhand, I cannot think of any Boshan beads in my collections that have avventurina glass. But the idea does not surprise me at all. Think of all the Chinese and Japanese enamel wares that include it.

JDA.

give or take a decade either way

Among the thirteen groups of beads I just received, one set is azure-blue with spiral trails of avventurina; and another is yellowish but clear with avventurina crumb spots. In both groups the avventurina tends to be thin or watery-looking. I had to check with a hand lens to be totally confident.

Since these beads are reputed to be from the 1990s, they don't provide any indication of avventurina use much prior to that time.

JDA.

This a composited image of two photos put together.

This is the only edited photo, so far. But, having purchased and received yet more Boshan beads, I plan to shoot close shots soon.

Fave Beijing seller of Chinese glass beads mmn_jane086 has some of these, as well as others, such as the blue beads with the metallic trailing.

eBay item 175648568547

She seems like a nice person, and has provided some interesting background. She is also a lapidarist. Her command of English is not always terrific, in terms of understanding my meaning. But we get through it. I have made three more purchases from her since the first one. A group of oblate plain purple translucent beads arrived today.

JDA.

The upper beads are cornflower-blue (though described as "violet").
The lower beads are smaller and are a nice but odd tone of greenish-yellow. One could say "yellow chartreuse."

JDA.

In my collection.

i have similar beads which are recent Indian-made ...

I have to admit that I have seen some Indian beads that I tend to think of as knock-offs of Chinese beads. But they are distinguishable from Chinese beads, if you have them in your hands.

Because I know the source of the beads I have, I am confident they are oldish and from China.

These speckled beads are around 9.5 - 10 mm.

Chris, Jamey - what are the sizes of the Boshan beads you are showing?

Note, my beads were from a couple of sources - the necklace composition is mine.

Blue speckled beads measure around 15-16m.
Beads on the necklace assortment are between 12-13mm.
White beads with speckles graduate from about 6mm to between 9-10mm.

Blue speckled and necklace beads accompanied by other beads and findings indicating a c1920s-40s time frame.

White beads age not determined. Have aventurine specks. Comparatively clean holes, high polish. A few stress cracks, appear to be somewhat casually wound (lots of tags near holes, not precisely round or holes centered). Could be recent, i.e., post 1990s?

The beads in the strand I have just acquired are very similar. Most range from 9mm to 11mm. A few are 13mm, and one is 14mm (all of these being spheroidal beads, and not the few odd shapes).

I cannot effectively date most of these beads, since they have come me as a group, but I know they were collected from estate sales, and not necessarily from the long past.

At the moment I am expecting to receive a collection of Boshan beads, that are reputed to have been made in the 1990s. I am looking forward to seeing them, since included are colors and patterns that I haven't see previously.

I have one strand and a few single sparse millefiori beads, that I bought as new in the 1990s. I have rarely ever seen their like. They are conventional in manufacture, but the cane units are odd—being fuzzy in details. I attributed this to their being new elements and beads. Whereas the "new beads" I bought in New York in 1987 clearly were made with the same cane stock as earlier beads.

JDA.

Looking through the purchases on their way to me now, I see one group consists of blue glass with a spiral of aventurine glass around its circumference. Not spots or crumbs, but still aventurine.

The group I bought did include spotty beads that have very thin washed-out avventurina.

I have not edited the close photos yet.

JDA.

Stumbled across these, pic shows original Chinese knotting.
c12mm range. Similar cane-flake crumbs.

Bought these about 10 years ago from a seller in Beijing. This seller is still on eBay. Guessing the beads are likely to have been made in Beijing, altho which are pre-1950 and post- , I don't know.

You can see the spiral murrine in the maroon beads, which seems an uncommon color.

...which claimed to "no longer" be making glass beads due to the popularity of plastic.

The pink speckled beads were thought by the seller to be old.

Closely inspected, they display a brown clay filling similar to that found in the blue-speckled necklace beads, with the speckled bits resembling cane flakes.
Poor pictures attached.

10mm H x 12mm W. Matte pebble finish. Brownish material in perf. Green and blue hues look very close to your beads. I assumed Asian but could never substantiate. Intriguing design - from chaos to order. :)

Given the variability in size and shape, it almost looks like thin canes were layered and offset, and with darker outer rings resulted in individual cloud-like appearances. This seems like a lot of work though.... Or possibly multi-ringed canes broken at varying oblique angles, shapes, and sizes - hence "flakes" as opposed to normal frit. Frit flakes are available from several manufacturers, but seem to be far removed from the beads in question.

https://www.dlartglass.com/product/detail/cbs-coatings-by-sandberg-yellow-rainbow-dichroic-glass-frit-flakes-90-coe

I suppose you are repeating stuff that is proposed by current studio beadmakers--that is terminology with which I disagree. But, in any event,"Given the variability in size and shape, it almost looks like thin canes were layered and offset, and with darker outer rings resulted in individual cloud-like appearances" is pretty much gobblygook to me. It's as though I need a translation.

By "multi-ringed canes," I suppose you mean concentrically-layered cased canes.

I really discourage "frit" (and consequently "frit-flakes," within the working of glass products. Frit is a product that is produced in the manufacture of glass. And it is not an end product. If beadmakers would just say "fritted glass" this would partly alleviate the issue. But the product that is referred to is not "frit." It is pulverized glass.

Also, in the arena of ancient beads, the specimens that are identified as "frit" are probably mostly or entirely just highly-decayed glass. And the concept of "frit" in this context is a mistaken idea related to the arena of faience manufacture.

The elongated, dirt-filled bubbles in the casually faceted beads in this Chinese necklace - likely from the 1930s-40s? - seem like evidence of cane-drawing.

These beads are such a departure from typical Chinese glass, I wonder why they are attributed to China (?). They look much more like Czech glass. Molded from preformed rods and then faceted. The style of necklace is certainly 1930s to '40s in my opinion. It would be easier for me to suppose these were Japanese, made in a Czech style, if they are not Czech. However making faceted beads was not typical of the Chinese nor Japanese—though I suppose they could have done this for export products.

The recent avalanche of faceted Chinese beads has been surprising to me.

The little clasp has Chinese characters for "silver" on it.
Bits of the necklace are missing.

Plus the jade, of course.

...and its subsequent takeover by Japan?
Boshan is of course within Shandong.

The Wikipedia article noticeably avoids including any Japanese occupation history.

In the early 20th century, BoShan was the administrative capital of the area. But BoShan is in the mountains while Zhang Dian is in a flat valley. Zhang Dian is on a main rail corridor, while BoShan was just a spur. So Zhang Dian replaced BoShan as a commercial and administrative center.

ShanDong was a German protectorate in the early 20th century, and in BoShan you can see traces of German influence. Some of the major non-Chinese companies in town are German. Siemens was one of the largest companies in town, but that German company sold their BoShan factory to GardnerDenverNash in 2005. The train station looks like a Bavarian building. And the town still has a few small restaurants who brew their own beer, German style.

Wikipedia on Japan occupation of Shandong:

China's refusal to sign the Treaty of Versailles necessitated a separate peace treaty with Germany in 1921. The Shandong dispute was mediated by the United States in 1922 during the Washington Naval Conference. In a victory for China, the Japanese leasehold on Shandong was returned to China in the Nine-Power Treaty. Japan, however, maintained its economic dominance of the railway and the province as a whole. When its dominance in the province was threatened by the ongoing Northern Expedition to unite China in 1927–1928, Japan launched a series of military interventions, culminating in the Jinan incident conflict with Chinese Nationalist soldiers.

It is a significant part of my analysis of the Boshan industry that the first glassworking there was instigated by occupant Germans. They may have introduced the idea of torchwork (or small furnace-work) using preformed elements, and the whole concept of trailing, cane-drawing, and mosaic-glass production—that resulted in millefiori beads. This would have been based on historical Venetian practices, that had already been transferred to other parts of Europe by the 19th C.

Of course, it's also possible that the Japanese, who took over, having learned hot-working in the Venetian style (no doubt instigated by the Dutch), may have impressed upon Chinese glassworkers that the preformed parts, cane-making, and mosaic-glasses, resulted in superior beads. When we view early Japanese beads, before they evolved into their local idiom, it is clear that some of their beads are attempts at copying Venetian beads—and were produced by their version of Venetian practices.

This is a strand of Boshan hot-pinched overlay beads. It seems evident these were inspired by Venetian wound overlay beads. I discerned that Boshan beadmakers made drawn beads in about 1985, based upon beads I saw then. I didn't know about the present beads until the 1990s. I bought some in Beijing in 1997, though mine are more brownish/less red on their exteriors.

JDA.

What appear to be the result of trying to chop thin canes into tiny murrine - a lot of semi-rounds and bits more resembling chips and flakes than tiny sequins.

The green beads were originally strung on Chinese-knotted silk, but the seller re-strung them in this temporary necklace.

The three-sided pink beads knotted into a necklace [next set of pix in reply] appear to be Japanese, yes? Or could they be recent Chinese?
Ditto the 12mm white beads.

The pink chinese beads with the brown clay-lined holes are from "Jane" in Beijing on eBay, and were considered by him/her to be old. They seem consistent in style with the beads associated with old Chinese twisted wire beads in necklaces that seem likely to date to the 1920s-30s.

The green beads appear to feature bits of what started out as "watermelon" pink/white/green/striped?? cane or stringers, whatever term you want to use.

It's getting a bit old and erratic on macros

Hi Chris,

OK, I get it.

Some of the beads I bought from Jane are being called "crumb beads, but the decoration includes incomplete fragments of patterned canes. I can see that "cane flakes" is descriptive of that. I bought these beads because I thought they were interesting. But they are so small, you can only appreciate this under magnification.

The pale pink spherical beads on the left side of your first photo appear to be Japanese. (I haven't viewed the other photos yet.)

JDA.

The 70s (did they keep making them after that decade?) Japanese beads were included for comparison purposes, their tiny murrine being so distinctive.

Also, the surface texture of the Japanese glass is much smoother and glossier - the Chinese beads have a less thoroughly fire polished/melted texture.

This is a photo I just posted at Facebook, showing a few of the small dark blue beads I have (from Jane) that have millefiori chips as crumb decoration. These have to be viewed under great magnification to be studied.

The second photo is the necklace I composed a few nights ago. The above blue beads are used as filler beads in the necklace. All of these are Boshan glass. Some I have had since 1987; though others were acquired recently from Jane and another seller.

JDA.

The pendant is a piece I acquired two years ago from an estate sale. It is Chinese champlevé on silver or white metal, depicting a boy holding a fish--that is apparently a rebus for wishing the abundance of birthing many male children.

The Boshan beads were selected to echo the colors of the pendant.

JDA.

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/openforum/&cmd=iYz&aK=187761&iZz=187761&gV=0&kQz=&aO=1&iWz=0

Hard to photo but easy to see with loupe or optivisor, the striped cane in the Chinese finial bead.

The smaller Japanese beads seem to display different, monochrome crumbs [olive and spring green?] and a brighter polish compared to the slight orange peel texture in the Chinese bead.

Presumably the Japanese beads date to at least 20 years later than the Chinese?

I just viewed this message today.

I'd be inclined to say the the differences between the Japanese and Chinese methods of making crumb beads is predicated on their other works.

Let's say that the supply of "crumbs" is derived from accumulating glass bits from making other products. (I think that's a reasonable assumption.)

Although the Boshan industry makes a variety of beads, including mosaic-glass elements and products (and their crumbs would or could reflect this), the Japanese industry is making simpler products—so their crumbs will tend to be monochromatic.

Is this not reasonable?

Crumb beads from the Canton industry, while relatively few in number, tend to have been limited to green and pink monochromatic crumbs, used to make imitation jade products, mostly on white glass, and usually only a small random sprinkling. Consequently, these Chinese beads would look more like the Japanese beads, in relation to the crumbs exploited.

Finally got around to examining the beads in bright sunlight using an optivisor, discovered what I mistakenly thought was pink or red is actually a coppery brown.

I say "coppery" because these bits have a faint metallic sheen. Not glittery like aventurine, more like an old copper penny.

Could not capture the metallic effect with my camera, but it's there, trust me ;^)

That's an unexpected observation.

On my beads, even when the avventurina is thinned-out (as it certainly can be) the telltale glints are present.

I wonder what they used for this effect (?).

JDA.

Took another look today with the loupe, and while the glass is definitely copper brown, I can't really tell if the "metallic" look is merely an artifact of the way bright sunlight reflects off the glass.

Different from the green and white portions, but in shade it just looks plain brown.

Copper red gone bad, lol? At any rate, it is definitely not rose or pink.

And she is indeed the same person I bought beads from several years ago. We had a pleasant message exchange, and I ordered more beads.

She also has an Etsy shop for lapidary works:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DFXes

I bought some carnelian beads from Jane, and also looked through her Etsy inventory.

I'm not impressed by the carnelian beads, since the photo was more interesting than the actual appearances of the beads acquired. The Etsy stuff seems high in price, though I suppose, she being a self-employed lapidary, her items will not be inexpensive.

JDA.

Like Jamey, I ordered more of these beads. The seller was pleased that I remembered them from several years ago, and kindly supplied some extras, such as the deep cobalt beads.

The beads all display that sort of dusty brown clay in the interior holes.

Enough here to make an attractive necklace, yes?

Jane included some extras, such as this strand of 6mm tourmaline-like glass beads that display a chatoyant effect.

A few still have straight sides and a sort of barrel shape rather than round, so manufactured by lapidary methods from a pulled cane?

I've asked Jane for more info, will let you know what they reply.