Hi Stefany!
Thank you for your reply.
I only have the photo I have shown, and no information about sizes. I would assume the base glasses are more-or-less opaque. And I cannot say whether the bases are multi-layered, but I'm inclined to doubt it.
I am inclined to veto Java and China as likelihoods. I don't know how old these beads may be; but I suppose that if they were new or recent (from Java or China), we would have seen their like already. The wreath pattern is not typical of older Chinese beads, even though it would be easy to copy.
My name for the pattern is "wreath"--as one can see in the book I did with Billy Steinberg, Wild Beads of Africa. Wreathes are indeed twisted ("candy cane") canes that are applied as circles. It is a well-known Venetian motif.
The reason that Borneo beads 'look like Venetian beads' is because the Borneo beads ARE Venetian. They are not copies of Venetian beads. (See my paper on Heirloom Beads in the 2010 Borneo Bead Conference papers.)
And, yes, the beads are clearly production work.
Cheers, Jamey
I got these mysterious beads via an auction.
They were ID'd as "Venetian," and as "African trade beads"--which they are neither.
Instead, these are recent/new imitations of Paiwan heirloom glass beads (of mysterious origin), from Formosa. These beads are equally mysterious, since they appear to derive from drawn plain beads, some of which have traditional designs, that have been rendered via painted and fused enamel work. Very different from the mosaic-glass of the original beads.
I was interested to acquire this necklace because I have not seen these imitations elsewhere (until after I bought them). I showed the necklace (in auction photos) to Robert Liu, and he remarked he likewise had not seen them before.
Since then, another seller is offering a bracelet that includes these beads--which I would buy except it's too pricy.
Has anyone else seen these?
JDA.
Some closer views.
