An Ancient & Antique Collection of Fine Beads

A Life Collecting

This superb collection features rare and exquisite examples of ancient and tribal beads and necklaces, sourced from European, Chinese and American markets, and local dealers the world over.

Our vendor’s interest in beads was piqued as a student, and the impetus to collect has coincided with a robust interest in in the technique, craft and history of beadmaking.

“My first purchase was a shell necklace in New Guinea while I was working my way through university. After graduating I started to acquire the occasional piece, and the collecting began in earnest while living and working overseas. I became addicted to these beautiful pieces, and their stories.”

While favourite buying spots would later include Hollywood Road in Hong Kong and a cluster of antique dealers in Beijing and Shanghai – “the dealers I visited were always enthusiastic and forthcoming about their items” – one of the first was a tiny boutique in California.

“When I arrived in America in the early ’70s, there was a little shop that sold Navaho jewellery that I visited regularly. Since then, I can legitimately say that I’ve been collecting whenever I can afford to.”

Pictured: A Southern Chinese Multi-Strand Coral Bead Necklace with Carved Bone Cylindrical Pieces, Hmong/Miao

A Beaded History

For our vendor, collecting has aligned with a fascination with the history of beadmaking across cultures.

Emerging in Palaeolithic times, the first beads were made of seeds, then shells, carved fossils, bone and animal teeth. Egyptian beads date from around 4,000 BCE and were initially crafted from soapstone, before makers turned to gemstones including green feldspar, lapis lazuli, carnelian, amethyst and hematite.

Gold beads in tubular and spherical shapes appeared in Sumeria from around 4,500 BCE, while the Minoan and Mycenaean societies produced minute beads in the shape of lilies and lotuses. The Mediterranean was likely also the source of the first glass beads, which made their way to Western Europe and Britian in the Late Bronze Age.

As societies expanded and trade increased, there was an acceleration of innovation and exchange across vast distances. The power and reach of the Roman empire, for instance, was bolstered by trading relationships. Items such as beads (and raw materials) described as ‘Roman’ might well have been made and exported in the Roman era or period, but quarried or created throughout the Empire as had been the case in Egypt for centuries.

Around the world, groups have historically developed beads with unique materials and characteristics – including the elaborate Aztec beads of jadeite, vividly coloured Venetian Millefiori Glass, Native American shell jewellery and the silver beads emblematic of hill tribes in Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

While many of us typically have an aesthetic response to the colours and forms, beads have served important purposes across diverse groups – embedded in cultural identity, used for trade or as a form of currency, part of religious or spiritual rituals (consider beads used for rosaries or in Buddhist mediation), as symbols of status, and sometimes serving as talismans to ward off evil.

For our vendor, some of the favourite pieces in the collection are some of the earliest examples. “There was a Roman glass necklace that I purchased in New York that comes to mind. It is an exquisite assembly of Roman-era delicate beads.”

Pictured: An Ancient Pre Columbian Chavin Gold & Turquoise Bead Necklace

An Exquisite Craft

Beadwork and innovation have historically intertwined, in the crafting of new shapes and in the use of new materials and techniques.

The ancient Egyptians, for instance, were able to master the use of blue faience, a material that had first appeared in the Near East towards the end of the fifth millennium BCE. Faience is created from common minerals and materials including quartz, alkaline salts, lime, and natural colours. While the richly coloured surface gives the appearance of a glaze, it is not applied to the surface of a piece in the manner of a traditional coating. Instead the alkali and lime react with silica during firing to create the shimmering surface.

Faience is in fact made in a range of colours, but it is most associated with the vibrant blue colour that emerges with the addition of copper. Used initially by the Egyptians for beads, and later to craft small votive objects, the colour was possibly used to mimic highly prized semi-precious stones such as turquoise. It also served a symbolic purpose, viewed as magical and imbued with the powers of rebirth.

Another example is the silver beading creating by hill tribes in Southeast Asia and Southern China such as the Miao and Hmong. Handcrafted with metalworking skills passed down through generations, hill tribe artesans produce high quality and intricate silver beading, typically with a silver content of between 95-99%, higher than commercial sterling silver.

“I have a fascination with decorative arts from antiquity, the fine beadwork from tribal areas, as well as rare beads and amulets” says our vendor. “The pieces are beautiful and the craft is exceptional.”

Pictured: An Ancient Egyptian Blue Faience Bead Necklace with Carved Carnelian Lotus Flower Drops, Amarna, 18th Dynasty

The Beautiful & Rare at Auction

Coming to auction in late February, this wonderful collection includes beaded necklaces and individual beads, amulets and belt buckles – including rare and museum quality examples. Among these is an Impressive and Very Fine Ainu (Japanese Indigenous) Bead Necklace of Glass, Amethyst and Rock Crystal, pictured.

The collection also features bead working books and a large collection of Ornament: The Art of Personal Adornment magazine, published by Robert Liu and colleagues. Please scroll down for a preview gallery.

An Ancient & Antique Collection of Fine Beads
Thursday 27 February | 6pm
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Theodore Bruce offers regular auctions in antiques, jewels & collectables. To stay informed, please sign up to our newsletter via the link below, follow us on Instagram, or keep an eye on Upcoming Auctions.