Picara 01.06.09 ~research refrences & inspiration~

RESEARCH & REFRENCES

I did some initial research on trade beads, and two in particular I found similar to the aesthetic of some of the "lampworking" beads we've seen.

Chevron Beads: (seen above center and far right)Venetian, 1500’s to 1900’s. One of the most famous trading beads, especially to Africa. Made using a glass mold with successive layers of glass which are ground to reveal the underlying patterns. The 7 layered chevrons are believed to date to the 1500’s. ost of the Venetian chevron beads made for export to West Africa and to the Americas have layers in red, blue, and white.
A smaller number of chevron beads were produced in other colors such as green, black and yellow. Venetian chevron beads have been traded throughout the world, most heavily in West Africa, where they were first introduced by Dutch merchants in the late 15th century. Certain very small sized 7 layer Venetian chevron beads, also made during the late 1400s, are found exclusively in the Americas, mainly in Peru, and attributed to having been introduced by Christopher Columbus. Some of these small beads have 18 points making them very unique. Chevron beads are very popular collectors' items and they are still highly valued in present day West Africa, where they continue to be worn for prestige and ceremonial purposes, and occasionally buried with the dead. Chevron and rosetta/star beads are now also being manufactured in India and in China.
http://en.wikipedia.org/


Millefiori (above far left) is an Italian word meaning " a thousand flowers". Millefiori beads are also known as "mosiac" beads throughout the world. The making of millefiori beads is a two step process. First the murrine or cane is made and then these are applied to a molten wound glass core and made into beads.

The millefiori beads made in Venice were imported by the thousands to Africa beginning in the late 1800s and traded or sold for various things. Most of the surviving bead sample cards, showing these beads as they were originally sold, are dated to the 1920s.
http://www.hohbead.com/