I am getting feeling that there are very serious modern bead production using old technology going on in Peshawar ... However, as area been very much out of bounds in past 30yrs, we know nothing about what they do and how they do it. So, I am trying to collect information. Any help will be appreciated.

I am thinking along similiar lines (I KNOW ITS DIFFERENT PART OF CONTINENT AND I BEEN IN BOTH PLACES) as in this article

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5cqjb31w2fz9u5h/gemstone-cut.pdf

Hi tofsia,

Yes, those beads in your picture are really bad fakes, unlike anything that was ever made (until now) from that area. i haven't been in Peshawar for four years but at that time I think most of the fake glass beads in the market came from India (low end) or West Asia (high end). Perhaps some of the replica stone beads came from Peshawar itself, but I was told that most came from the Swat Valley. It may have all changed since then.

I'll post pictures of a couple of ancient etched carnelian beads that I bought there five or six years ago. I bought a couple of good strands at that time, but I don't have photos of any of the others here in Canada. The first fascinates me (a) for the technique, and (b) for the way the shadow of the pattern in the stone itself (with an eye included) survives behind the geometric etching. There was quite a bit of discussion about the technique when I showed it here before (sorry, I can't find the link), because of the way the black changes to white at one point.

Jan and Bob have a lot of very good examples they could show you, or you could do a search for them.

Cheers,

Will

Here's a close-up of the previous bead showing the change in colour in the line.

With the second bead the white etching has turned pink - I don't know why. It's an interesting effect I've never seen repeated.

W.

I didn't realise that this was a forum where only one kind of response was allowed.

This forum has plugged along for a solid 10 years now...and it thrives because of the giving nature of the participants. Every image, every post takes time, generously shared by those who participate. (Thank you all!) The network of bead collectors touches every continent, and everyone has something to share of interest to others. We frequently meander from the initial subject matter - there are no rules about that. If demands for images of fakes prompts a response of images of ancients, I am the last to complain! Other relevant responses could easily appear on a nearby thread from someone else - and answers often don't come right away.

I would not flip, if autor was not providing gazzilions of small but irrelevant lies... Let go step by step

1. Like distance beetween Peshawar and Mingora is about 2 or so odd hours, and there is NO DAMN difference where it was produced in Peshawar or Swat.

2. I also think is a bit unlikley that autor was in Peshawar 4yr ago,
but very possible he visited Mingora or Saidu Sharif. But i might be wrong and he been there with Taliban army!

3. Also great teachers tone should be cooled down, as I find comments like this unacceptable in tone "Jan and Bob have a lot of very good examples they could show you, or you could do a search for them". I did not asked for good examples, so i dont need advice where to find them.

4. Desire to say something and show off, very often overcome interest to share info...

I hope I explain myself
Regards

P.S. Is it Will going to Peshawar to buy beads?

but Will is a polite, well respected and well informed member of the forum. Even if you doubt the truth of what he says it puts you into a very extreme position to publicly say that you don't believe him.

Also, as far as I know there are no forum rules which prevent members of the Taliban from posting. I am not for one minute suggesting that Will is or is not a member of the Taliban. I just think that is completely irrelevant both to his post and to yours.

Your inital subject is interesting and so is Will's related subject. I hope I have the opportunity to read more about both and from both of you but without distracting and inappropriate personal remarks.

The aim of the forum, in opinion, is to enjoy learning more about beads.
All the best and let's get back to enjoying and learning.
Brian

and my fakes are from Peshawar itself. Thats been confirmed. Now can we go back with what I asked... PLEASE. If I wanted real one i would ask?

...and some of us appreciate seeing authentic examples of beads we do not own ourselves. Having both authentic and reproduction beads in the same thread makes it easier to compare the differences.