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In Memoriam: Peter Francis, Jr., 1945-2002, Karlis Karklins

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

The bead research community lost a principal member when Peter Francis, Jr., director of the Center for Bead Research in Lake Placid, New York, died December 8, 2002, while on a research trip to Ghana, West Africa. Pete was widely known and respected, and was responsible for significantly increasing people's awareness—on a worldwide scale—of beads and their place in human culture through his many publications, lectures, workshops, symposia, and internet website. He leaves a void that will be very hard, if not impossible, to fill.

Reviews And End Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Amulets and Pendants in Ancient Maharashtra, by Jyotsna Maurya (2000), reviewed by Jonathan Mark Kenoyer

South East African Beadwork, 1850-1910: From Adornment to Artefact to Art, by Michael Stevenson and Michael Graham-Stewart (2000), reviewed by Margret Carey

Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum: Beads and Other Small Objects, by Maud Spaer et al. (2001), reviewed by Peter Francis, Jr.

Asia's Maritime Bead Trade: 300 B.C. to the Present, by Peter Francis, Jr. (2002), reviewed by James W. Lankton

Ethnographic Beadwork: Aspects of Manufacture, Use and Conservation, Margot M. Wright (ed.) (2001), reviewed by Alice Scherer.

Late Neolithic Amber Beads And Pendants From The Lake Lubāns Wetlands, Latvia, Ilze Biruta Loze

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

In Late Neolithic Europe, amber beads and pendants were initially mainly made in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea, due to the presence of amber washed up by the Litorina Sea. There were four principal localized zones of Neolithic amber artifacts in this region: the eastern Baltic, the mouth of the Vistula River, Jutland and Skone, and Fennoscandinavia. The British Isles are regarded as a fifth zone. As the popular-scientific literature has so far provided scant information on the amber-working zone of the eastern Baltic, this article summarizes the findings revealed by extensive archaeological research, particularly during the past …

A Brief Biography Of Giovanni Giacomuzzi: Artist And Glassmaker, Vincenzo Zanetti

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Giovanni Giacomuzzi (1817-1872) was the driving force behind the celebrated 19th-century Venetian beadmaking and glassworking firm of Fratelli Giacomuzzi fu Angelo, one of whose bead sample books is described in the accompanying report. This tribute by a learned contemporary summarizes Giacomuzzi's accomplishments and sheds light on the life of a much-honored master glassworker.

Captions And Color Plates (V. 14, 2002)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

The Giacomuzzi Bead Sample Book And Folders, Karlis Karklins

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

The sample book described herein displays the wound glass beads produced during the third quarter of the 19th century by an acclaimed Venetian firm, that of the Giacomuzzi brothers. The book vividly shows what sorts of beads were being marketed by a single firm at this time, and provides much useful information concerning bead sizing systems. Although not marked with the producers name, the folders that accompany the book are of like date and at least one is likely a product of the Giacomuzzis.

Beads: Journal Of The Society Of Bead Researchers - Volume 14 (Complete)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents (V. 12-13, 2000-2001)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews And End Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Indian Beads: Cultural and Technological Study, by Shantaram Bhalchandra Deo (2000), reviewed by Jonathan Mark Kenoyer

Beads, Body, and Soul: Art and Light in the Yoruba Universe, by Henry J. Drewal and John Mason (1998), reviewed by Margret Carey

Flights of Fancy: An Introduction to Iroquois Beadwork, by Dolores N. Elliott (2001), reviewed by Karlis Karklins.

Identifying Sources Of Prehistoric Turquoise In North America: Problems And Implications For Interpreting Social Organization, Frances Joan Mathien

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Well-made turquoise beads are rare in North American archaeological sites, and the prehistoric sources of turquoise are limited. Mining the turquoise, manufacturing the bead, and using it as part of a bracelet or necklace involve numerous human interactions to transport the raw material from its source to the place where it is finally found in an archaeological context. Accurate identification of turquoise sources affects our interpretation of prehistoric behavior and is the focus of this paper.

The Krobo And Bodom, Kirk Stanfield

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Certain relatively large beads, almost always found in Ghana, have come to be called "bodom" by bead traders, collectors, and researchers. Most students of this bead believe it is the product of the Krobo powder-glass industry proliferating today in southeastern Ghana. Upon closer inspection, however, there appear to be two distinct groups of bodom that we may, for convenience, call "old" and "new." While the new bodom are definitely made in Ghana today, using techniques that have been observed and documented, the old bodom are substantially different in enough ways to suggest that they were made elsewhere by other methods. …

Annamese Orders: Precious Metal, Tassels, And Beads, John Sylvester Jr.

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Over the centuries, beads have been used for myriad purposes but a seemingly unique application is their use as components of several types of Annamese orders. Now known as Vietnam, the State of Annam issued a number of civil awards during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four of these—khahn, boi, tien, and bai—were made of precious materials and incorporated bead strands and tassels in their composition. The khanh was reinstated as the second-ranking civil order of the Republic of Vietnam in 1957.

Stone Beads And Sealstones From The Mycenaean Tholos Tomb At Nichoria, Greece, Nancy C. Wilkie

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Stone beads and engraved sealstones are among the most common grave goods that accompany Mycenaean burials. At Nichoria in the southwestern Peloponnese of Greece, a tholos tomb, presumably the burial place of the local elite at the site, had been plundered more than once in antiquity before being investigated by archaeologists. Nonetheless, it produced numerous stone beads of rock crystal, amethyst, carnelian, agate, and "steatite." Eleven sealstones, most of which were heirlooms when placed in the tomb, were also found among the disturbed burial offerings.

Man-In-The-Moon Beads, Michele Lorenzini, Karlis Karklins

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

The unique and memorable design of man-in-the-moon beads has intrigued researchers over the years. These distinctive beads were identified in the 1960s by George Quimby as being chronologically diagnostic of Middle Historic Period sites (1670-1760) in the western Great Lakes region. The present study more clearly defines both the temporal and geographical instances of man-in-the-moon beads while taking into account possible cultural and historical implications. This project has led to the compilation of information regarding many specimens previously unknown to most researchers.

The Stone Bead Industry Of Southern India, Peter Francis Jr.

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Although previously unrecognized, South India was once home to a major stone-beadmaking industry. At its zenith in the early centuries A.D., it exported beads eastward to other parts of Asia and westward to the Roman Empire. South Indian gems were of such importance to the Roman West that the region deserves the title of "Treasure Chest of the Ancient World." Research has identified the probable sources of nearly all the raw materials used, the lapidary centers, and the trade routes over which the finished beads would have traveled. Additionally, it has revealed that the principal participants in the industry were …

Captions And Color Plates (V. 12-13, 2000-2001)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Beads: Journal Of The Society Of Bead Researchers - Volume 12-13 (Complete)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Captions And Color Plates (V. 10-11, 1998-1999)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents (V. 10-11, 1998-1999)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Progress And Problems In Recent Trade Bead Research, Richard G. Conn

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Thirty years have passed since the late Richard G. Conn presented this paper at the conference of the Canadian Archaeological Association in Winnipeg, March 8-9, 1968. It is presented here to show us how far we have come and how far we still have to go.

Venetian Beads, Frank Hird

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Interesting accounts of the manufacture of Venetian glass beads turn up in the most unlikely places. The one reproduced here was published in The Girl's Own Paper for February 1, 1896 (Vol. 17, No. 840, pp. 292-294). In addition to presenting a decent description of the manufacture of drawn and blown beads during the latter part of the 19th century, Mr. Hird gives us details concerning the setting in which the beadmakers and bead stringers worked. Paint peels from the ceilings of the rooms where women make blown beads, and half-dressed men sweat in the heat from the glass furnaces. …

Dressed To Kill: Jade Beads And Pendants In The Maya Lowlands, David M. Pendergast

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Jade was a material of paramount importance in ancient Maya life owing to its symbolic significance. The meanings of jade's color lent to the stone, and to those adorned with objects fashioned from it, an unmistakable aura of power. As a result, jade objects figure very prominently in the archaeological record, and their forms and contexts bespeak their ancient meanings. The tracing of the shapes, carving, production techniques, and use history of jades underscores the role of jade in Maya belief, political economy, and personal ornamentation.

Melanau Bead Culture: A Vanishing World?, Heidi Munan

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Settled on the South China Sea coast of Sarawak, the Melanau comprise an aristocratic society which used to have a strong bead culture, tied to animist religion. Developments in the 19th and 20th centuries have influenced the traditional way of life so that today, only a few Melanau still keep a significant number of beads. Nevertheless, shamen and healers, adherents to the old religion, continue to use beads in healing and purification ceremonies. Bereaved families protect themselves by wearing special beads, and by providing the deceased with beads according to his or her status in the traditional hierarchy. Specific kinds …

A Brief History Of Drills And Drilling, A. John Gwinnett, Leonard Gorelick

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

A microscopic examination of silicone impressions of the perforations of beads, sealstones, and amulets has produced a data base of characteristics that help to define what type of drill was used to make them. This article outlines the various types of drills that have been used from the Palaeolithic period to the present day, and notes what microscopic features characterize each one. Scanning electron micrographs illustrate the minute details that are revealed by the silicone impressions.

Reviews And End Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Beads and Bead Makers: Gender, Material Culture, and Meaning, Lidia D. Sciama and Joanne B. Eicher (eds.) (1998), reviewed by Carole Morris

Glasperlen Christbaumschmuck/Glass Bead Christmas Tree Ornaments, by Waltraud Neuwirth (1995), reviewed by Karlis Karklins

Perlern: Archaologie, Techniken, Analysen, Uta von Freeden and Alfried Wieczorek (eds.) (1997), reviewed by Frank Siegmund

Das awarenzeitliche Graberfeld von Halimba. Das Awarische Corpus. Beihefte V, by Gyula Török (1998), reviewed by Katalin Szilagyi

Little Chief's Gatherings, by James A. Hanson (1996), reviewed by Karlis Karklins.

Stone Beads And Their Imitations, Robert K. Liu

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Simulations of precious-stone beads began to be made as soon as feasible materials became available. From antiquity onward, we have replicas of stone beads made of glazed stone, faience, and other ceramics, and glass. In contemporary times, glass and plastic have become the predominant substitutes for stone beads, although materials of organic origin, such as bone and tusk, have also been used. Information is presented on the background, materials, and techniques for detecting such simulations, using primarily visual clues provided by macro color photographs.

A History Of Gem Beadmaking In Idar-Oberstein, Si Frazier, Ann Frazier, Glenn Lehrer

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Located at the southwestern edge of Germany, Idar-Oberstein is the historic stone-cutting center of Europe. The origins of the industry go back at least 500 years. The industry was originally based on local deposits of agate, jasper, rock crystal, and amethyst but beginning in the 19th century, all kinds of rough gemstones began to be imported from around the world. The industry grew very rapidly from the middle of the 19th century. A great deal of this success was based on the manufacture of agate beads ("African money") for export to Africa and the Middle East. This article not only …

Beads: Journal Of The Society Of Bead Researchers - Volume 10-11 (Complete)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.