Searching "Antique Chinese Melon Beads", here is a link, scroll down for similar multi-colored beads in a long strand.

We don't actually do value estimates - beads are very different from coins and stamps, there are no accurate published value guides and value is subjective and variable as to condition, provenance and what the customer is willing to pay.

Hi Lisamichele,

If your beads are 150 years old, Ching Dynasty (1644 to 1912), they would probably be Peking Glass beads. But they are unusual in size and color. It is possible that they are Sung Dynasty (960 - 1279) which would affect their value considerably. And I would have to examine them in person to form an opinion.

Trying to establish what something is worth is problematic...especially with so called "Peking Glass".* After forty years as a specialist in antique Chinese and Japanese beads, I find that Peking glass beads do not seem to have much of a following these days...with the exception of the early 20th c. Chinese millefiori ones.

Because the prices are currently very low, I feel Peking glass beads may prove to be a good investment. And maybe not. I do like the small size of yours, although the large holes are likely to create a crooked look on a skinny string -unless you fill the holes with a thick cord or tiny beads.

*Peking glass was actually made in Boshan but it is called "Peking" because it was largely marketed in Peking.

Moreover, I FIND VALUE in putting antique beads into the hands of someone who will respect them properly, act as conservator and then pass them on to someone who will properly care for them. And I realize that this is idealistic and nearly never happens.

In addition, currently, the biggest spenders for historical Chinese beads are the Chinese collectors in China who are reclaiming their heritage. For example: many Warring States beads & Mandarin Court Necklaces are bringing nearly ten times the money they brought only ten years ago: all due to the demand by the rising middle class collectors in China.

Although you have 111 nearly identical beads, 108 would be used for the primary part of a Mandarin Court Necklace -"MCN." But your beads are too small to be from a MCN. And melon shapes were not used in MCNs.

The Ornament Magazine beads you cited are similar in color to yours. But they are twice the size and not melon shaped. However, you may want to ask Dr. Robert Liu, co-editor and author of the Chinese glass bead cover article, for his opinion. And then we would especially love to hear from you again.

Good luck with finding value in your Chinese melons; I feel the process is worthwhile.

Fred, I think Lisamichele is referring to the melon beads about 2/3 down, not the smooth large turquoise blue beads at the top.

Actually the cover that I was looking at was this one.. My beads look like the ones that are in the bottom left hand corner of the photo, second sweep of beads from the outer ones. And I did receive a message from Dr. Liu.. He said it would be hard to tell without actually seeing them, but that they are most likely Chinese from the 19th c. But beads from this period are hard to pin down. And suggested looking online for value and reading his article in the 36/4 volume of Ornament.
So my sentiments as to age were validated.. True value, well that remains to be seen. Many thanks to everyone who replied.. Now I'll have to get out my other mystery strand of beads that I inherited from my Grandmother LOL ;0)

June 2022.

I have a rather different perspective—and one I have expressed since the early 1980s—particularly after hearing a lecture by Robert K Liu—an authority on Chinese beads.

Fred remarked, "Peking glass was actually made in Boshan but it is called "Peking" because it was largely marketed in Peking."

No—not true at all.

First, via Liu, the name "Peking glass" was dropped from my vocabulary at that time, because I accepted his recommendation that the "name" be considered obsolete, in-favor of "Chinese glass beads." That is how I have expressed it ever since then. And anyone can see I promoted this view from the beginning of the Forum, numerous times.

What were formerly called "Peking glass beads," were specific products. They were furnace-wound, onto rods coated with mandrel release (that is routinely found within the perforations of those beads). The beads were various sizes and shapes, and various colors—and there are decent collections of the variables. (I have documented them!) Also, the Chinese of that time (the Late Ming through the Xing Dynasties), did not indulge in much glass-bead decoration. "Peking glass" had nearly none, apart from being sometimes bi-colored (often green/white to resemble jadeite), and sometimes random crumbs (for the same reason). They did not indulge in skillful trailed decoration. So the grand proportion of these beads are monochromatic (!).

They were not "made in Boshan." The alternate name for "Peking glass beads" was "Canton beads." And this was at least one place where the beads were manufactured. Canton is within Guangzhou, in the south of China. (Not far from Hong Kong.)

In contrast, Boshan is a district within Shandong, in the northeast of China—directly west of South Korea, and much closer to Beijing.

The Boshan glass industry was founded well-into the 20th C.—and differs from Canton beadmaking because the skills exploited were/are much different. All sorts of beads, including decorated lampwork beads, were made at Boshan. And many of these products were direct imitations of Venetian products.

Unfortunately, it has become even more-common to refer to any Chinese beads as "Peking glass," whether made in Canton from furnace work, or made in Boshan from torchwork. I see this error constantly. And it appears that nearly no one understands what "Peking glass" was, nor why it should not be called that anymore.