Hi Rosanna,
The origin is not obvious. You say "too messy to be Venetian." But, the closest I can think of would be an Indian knock-off. These have been circulating for thirty-something years. However, Indian beads are too messy to properly copy a Venetian bead. Plus they also use avventurina glass. So, by comparison, your bead is too neat to be Indian. And it looks older than the Indian period of production.
I suppose Venetian is not unreasonable, though it's not a pattern I recall. (A lot of Venetian beads from 100 years ago were cranked out. And these are messy, compared to the same beads when more-carefully made.)
JDA.
Thanks for your input. The only other source I could think of was also India.
The bead is now back with its owner and so will remain somewhat a mystery, I think...
to me it looks like chinese/Boshan splodges.
next time i'm in my workshop i will try to find comparisons... i may have some beads this shape too...
The shape of this bead just doesn’t look like a typical Venetian from the trade bead era.
The shape of the smaller beads, as well as some of the others in your book, are similar to the unknown bead. Not sure about the blotches and aventurine decoration though.
Hi Stef,
I easily recognize your beads as Boshan products. Although they are oval, the random trails are exactly like lots of Boshan beads, including spherical translucent blue beads. The beads I refer to differ only in that they additionally have sparse millefiori decorations, consisting of typical "sun burst" patterns (that I have proposed may represent flowers--such as chrysanthemums).
JDA.
Don't know if this helps. I do make lampwork beads. Have studied beads for over 40 years. Have reproductions made of Trade Beads (Because some people are not Rich). Worked with pioneer Bead man many years ago Gerald Fenstermaker and have some of the beads he found and the states and counties where they came from. The beads in my photo are indeed new. In my experience many times the newer beads have the colors {Sunk into them}, many older have a little more pattern nearer the surface. I have seen times the whites are brighter or a bit more chalky.
