Collectible Beads

Informative guide to decorative beads from around the world. Listing of bead societies, organizations and publications. Quarto.

Explores the fascinating world of British beads.

Gorgeous embellishments from the celebrated craft store inspire you to create your own projects—from a Button Charm Bracelet to an Opera Bag. French steel-cut beads, mother-of-pearl buttons, spools of vintage ribbons . . . This exquisite book showcases the decorative bits flea-market hunters dream of. Hundreds of photos reveal rare European notions from the craft community’s most beloved emporium, Tinsel Trading Company. With these vintage baubles as her inspiration, Kaari Meng shares projects that crafters can make with their own flea-market finds or with contemporary materials they have on hand: a button charm bracelet, whimsical petite prize medals, an heirloom-worthy memory book, shimmering handbags, and more. Kaari’s colorful inspiration boards lend design guidance, while her tips and resources help notion-lovers build up their stash of treasures.

African Beads: Jewels of a Continent is the first book dedicated exclusively to African-made beads. In detailed chapters organized by material (bone and shell, wood and amber, stone, metal, glass) authors Evelyn Simak and Carl Dreibelbis trace the historical journey of bead making in Africa. Prefaced with an essay by Lois Sherr Dubin and accompanied by 163 color photographs, this magnificent book is a showcase for some of the rarest, most beautiful and most collectible beads in the world.

Offers instructions for creating fifty French-inspired jewelry projects using vintage beads and other notions.

Includes how-to information.

This fascinating study is the first detailed description of the ancient and enduring trade in beads that spans more than two millennia and once stretched from the Middle East to East Asia and affected areas as far apart as West Africa and the American Pacific coast. Beads are universal and among the earliest art forms. Made of glass, semiprecious stone, or precious organic materials such as amber and coral, they were ubiquitous in the ancient world, serving as decorations, magical charms, mnemonic and counting devices, symbols of wealth and status. Much of the ancient bead trade was incorporated in Asian maritime commerce, and many of the beads involved have Asian origins. Peter Francis, Jr., a pioneer in bead studies, incorporates firsthand knowledge of beads and beadmaking in the field with years of solid, scholarly research, effectively eliminating much of the hearsay and speculation that so often characterizes works on beads. In addition to the production, use, and provenance of beads, he examines the importance of the bead trade for the economies of the countries involved and provides insights into the lives of its many participants: artisans, mariners, and merchants. He covers the widely-dispersed Indo-Pacific beads (sometimes called Trade Wind beads or mutisalah), Chinese glass beads, Middle Eastern glass beads, Indian stone beads, heirloom beads in Southeast Asia and Micronesia, and other minor beads and bead industries involved in the trade.

Beads are the oldest and most widespread form of art. They have been made from all materials in every corner of the globe. Their uses are innumerable. They do not just decorate people, but many other things as well. Moreover, they function as status symbols, magic charms, and are helpful to us in many other ways. While there have always been people interested in beads, the lack of information on them has restricted their collecting. A few years ago there were only a handful of small bead societies and very little on beads in print. That is now changing rapidly; bead societies are being formed at an astounding rate around the U.S. and abroad. As with all collectibles, as interest in them grows, scarce beads rise in price. What has caused the boom in bead collecting is that today there are far more resources for collectors than ever. These include bead societies, bead conferences, and other support groups as well as much more published information. The author of this book is responsible for a great deal of this. Though there are other books on beads, Beads of the World is unique for two reasons. For one, it covers the universe of collectible beads, including beads made especially for trade and those produced locally for personal use. Moreover, it is written in a highly accessible style from extensive personal, first-hand knowledge. Much of this book is the author's own work. It distills years of research to bring a comprehensive, global view of beads to brginning and experienced collectors and other studends of humanity. The detailed Appendix and Notes sections open up the fascinating "bead world" to newcomers and document past research for advanced collectors. The first bead price guide ever published will also prove useful.

"This volume allows us to share the many years of impassioned, fruitful research that have allowed the author to select a grouping of Middle Eastern and Venetian glass beads found in Western Africa. BJ This text provides an in-depth analysis of the elements that make up a plurality of bead types, allowing us to achieve a synthetic reading of their technical, historical and - where present - symbolic characteristics."--BOOK JACKET.