Collecting Ancient Glass Beads Long before gemstones were faceted or pearls were cultured, ancient
glass beads ranked on a par with the most precious gems. Beads of all kinds
have been traded, collected, and treasured throughout human history. Beads
are one of the oldest forms of art. They have been used for tens of thousands
(some say hundreds of thousands) of years. A tenth century Arab once said
that the Vikings would "go to any length to get hold of colored
beads". Certainly colored beads of flame worked glass from Birka, native
amber and jet, carnelian and silver imported from India and Iran via Islamic
and traders, rock crystal, garnet, amethyst, gold, and bronze were other
types of beads highly prized by people from the ancient world. The word
bead comes from the Anglo Saxon words bidden (to pray) and bede (prayer.)
Collecting ancient
glass beads is a field of growing popular interest. Glassmaking originated
in the Syro-Palestine area around the third
millennium BC and was developed in Egypt in 1330 BC. The Phoenicians
became the greatest glassmakers and exporters of the ancient world.
Chemistry for the coloration of glass was already in place during the reign
of Tutankhamun in Egypt (circa 1330
B.C.), and colored glass was heavily exploited for furniture and architectural
inlay for several centuries thereafter. Although the Romans had nothing
to do with the invention
of glass, during the first century A.D. they did play a primary role
in the industrialization of the glassmaking process in the Mediterranean
world.
The glass seed beads, sometimes referred to as trade beads, played an
important, if not somewhat of an ignominious role in the colonization of
North America. Columbus' first trade with the people of the Americas
was done with the use of red hats and string beads to gain the confidence
and admiration of the indigenous people. October 12, 1492, Columbus recorded
in his logbook that the natives of San Salvador Island were given red caps
and glass beads. This is the earliest written record of glass beads in
the Americas.
With the exploration and settlement of the New World, the demand for
beads grew higher and higher. Explorers, traders and missionaries had great
use for beads as a unit of exchange with the people of the New World, and
Africa.
Beads are not just adornment! No, beads have been used by mankind for
centuries, and not even just modern mankind. This makes them a fascinating
and popular item to collect especially the ancient glass beads.