beads-msg - 7/14/19

Necklaces, beads. References. construction.

NOTE: See also these files: beadwork-msg, glasswork-msg, ivory-msg, bone-msg,
horn-msg, ivory-bib, lapidary-msg, A-Lapidary-art, jewelry-msg, gem-sources-msg.
 
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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: kellogg at rohan.sdsu.edu (C. Kevin Kellogg)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: bead work
Date: 9 Oct 1995 18:10:44 GMT
Organization: San Diego State University Computing Services

Eric McCollum (ericmc at ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: So, does anyone know uses in period for beads that do not involve
: needle, thread, and dresses? I can think of rosaries off the top of my
: head. My local library is short on resources. 

Beads were used by the Norse for necklaces.  Millifiori beads, in
particular, are very common in grave finds.  The World of the Vikings CD rom
has a large store of such images.  I've been playing at duplicating some
of the patterns with Fimo.

Avenel Kellough


Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: Bob Hurley <bhurley at ilinkgn.net>
Subject: Re: Venetian beads-help!
Date: Thu, 04 Apr 1996 10:54:31 -0500
Organization: Nant-y-Derwyddon, Meridies

MISS PATRICIA M HEFNER wrote:
> 
> Does anybody know where (or how) I can get period-style Venetian beads?
> They were first made in the eleventh or twelfth century. They are multi-
> colored and round with carefully designed gold "net" semi-circles that
> fits onto the beads. The beads are usually put on red strings that are
> tied into knots that hold the bead in its place. I once had a necklace
> made with them but now that's gone. I really, really, want to replace
> it. Can anybody help me? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
> --Isabelle

I don't know enough about beads to give you a specific source, but Bally Bead Co. (P. O. Box 934, Rockwall TX 75087, 1-800-543-0280) may have them.

Robert


From: sdavitt at ub.d.umn.edu (sarah davitt)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Venetian beads-help!
Date: 4 Apr 1996 22:30:12 GMT
Organization: University of Minnesota, Duluth

MISS PATRICIA M HEFNER wrote:
> Does anybody know where (or how) I can get period-style Venetian beads?
> They were first made in the eleventh or twelfth century. They are multi-
> colored and round with carefully designed gold "net" semi-circles that
> fits onto the beads. The beads are usually put on red strings that are
> tied into knots that hold the bead in its place. I once had a necklace
> made with them but now that's gone. I really, really, want to replace
> it. Can anybody help me? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
> --Isabelle

The Venitian beads are made much the same way the new-fangled Fimo beads 
are made.. The process is called making a 'cane' and it is included in 
the book "the New Clay"  where the pattern is built up into a round tube 
of color, and then rolled out into a desired size (no matter how small you 
roll it, the design stays in tact!)

The 'cane' is then sliced into little disks (like slicing a jelly roll), and 
holes poked through the bead's sides perfect for stringing.

As for replacing the necklace.. check at beade shoppes.. and *ask* for 
them.. because they are not cheap, mose storefronts don't carry them.

Though if you wish, I would suggest making them of richly colored clay, 
and then giving them a very slick laquer, for that glassy appearance.  
This is by far cheaper, and they can be color coordinated.

Best of luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail,
Celine Grandjean
mka Sarahj Davitt-Style


From: afn03234 at freenet3.afn.org (Ronald L. Charlotte)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Venetian beads-help!
Date: 8 Apr 1996 10:51:36 GMT

MISS PATRICIA M HEFNER wrote:
>
> Does anybody know where (or how) I can get period-style Venetian beads?
> They were first made in the eleventh or twelfth century. They are multi-
> colored and round with carefully designed gold "net" semi-circles that
> fits onto the beads. The beads are usually put on red strings that are
> tied into knots that hold the bead in its place. I once had a necklace
> made with them but now that's gone. I really, really, want to replace
> it. Can anybody help me? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
> --Isabelle

Pick up any current issue of _Lapidary Journal_.  The ads for beading 
supplies nearly crowd out the ads for other types ofjeweler's supplies.
--
     al Thaalibi ---- An Crosaire, Trimaris
     Ron Charlotte -- Gainesville, FL
     afn03234 at afn.org


From: mellitus7 at aol.com (Mellitus7)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: 5 Jun 1996 15:11:51 -0400

IVANOR at delphi.com writes:
>I was talking about the situation where the thread weakens and breaks. Even
>the excellent method you refer to above (which I would very much like to
>learn) isn't proof against weak thread or sharp edges on the beads where
>they are drilled.

True, but if each bead  has a knot between it and its nieghbors, you'll only
lose one bead when it breaks.  Still, the best cure is prevention.  Use
strong thread like sinew or tiger tail and file any rough edges before you
bead.

HL Mellitus of Rouncivale
bead goob


From: Cluster User <cluster.user at nd.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 19:00:49 -0500
Organization: University of Notre Dame

I didn't hear the beginning of this thread, so I may be repeating 
things. If so, disregard. I have done a small amount of bead stringing 
as a jeweler, so I pass on what I was taught. If you're sewing metal 
beads to garb, or stringing metal beads alone or with other types of 
beads, stay away from silk thread. The metal beads will cut through 
it. Nylon will stretch more than silk will, but it won't cut through 
as readily. The earlier idea about tigertail is a good one, but if you 
can put knots in it you're better than I am. In any case, use the 
heaviest thread that you can double back through your smallest bead 
holes without stressing or fraying the thread. Silk and nylon threads, 
as well as tigertail and probably books on bead stringing can be found 
at a jewelers' supply store and probably at a good craft store. Hope 
this is useful.

Carol of Stargate


From: mellitus7 at aol.com (Mellitus7)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beadwork
Date: 5 Jun 1996 15:11:57 -0400

darcyb at crc.stmartin.EDU (Darcy Ballew) writes:
>My name is Lady Siobhan of Ennistymon.  I am 
>interested in finding a book, or two, that is a
>how-to book and also has patterns. 
>
>Lady Siobhan

Good lady,
My best advice is to get one of those booklets from Sindara or see if your
local hobby store has something that can be of use (Beaded Jewelry,etc). 
Sindara's are written from an SCA perspective which helps, but if you take
what you learn from Sally Crafter's and combine it with a little research
(Dubin's History of Beads,  Mowatt's Universal Bead, etc) you should come
up with some nice accessories for your garb.

HL Mellitus of Rouncivale
Calontir Bead Goob


From: sirona at midtown.net
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: jet beads
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 08:19:21 GMT
Organization: Midtown Computer Services

oguinn at proaxis.com (C and D Carter/Briggs) wrote:
>      I am on a quest for jet, that dark black, semi-precious stone.
>It seems that Celtic women collected 2 things, amber and jet.  Amber
>is easily found but jet is more elusive  If anyone knows of sources,
>esp. for jet beads, please e-mail me
>                               
>                                    Many thanks,
>                             Baroness Kathryn Melville O'Guinn

I found this on my bead news group for you :>

We've gottem....Please visit http://www.beads2u.com
4mm blackstone (Jet) and other shapes.
AMBUSH05 at aol.com

happy trails robert


From: gunnora at bga.com (Gunnora Hallakarva)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Jet beads and Black Amber
Date: 1 Sep 1996 14:34:36 GMT

Baroness Kathryn Melville O'Guinn oguinn at proaxis.com (C and D Carter/Briggs) wrote:
>      I am on a quest for jet, that dark black, semi-precious stone.
>It seems that Celtic women collected 2 things, amber and jet.  Amber
>is easily found but jet is more elusive  If anyone knows of sources,
>esp. for jet beads, please e-mail me

Heilsa!
     This is interesting.  I knew that the Vikings considered jet to be "Black 
Amber" and equally believed them to be Freyja's tears.  I had not realized that the Celts prized jet also (though with as much trading of culture and ideas as went on between the Vikings and the Celts, there is no reason I should be surprised).  Both the Vikings and the Celts liked to put amber beads with blue glass beads as well, and sometimes green ones.  The existing beads I've seen are a mid to sky blue (like cobalt glass with white glass stirred in fairly well) and the green ones are the color green that I personally dislike, which is more of a drab or olive green...  see "The History of Beads, 30,000bc to the Present " for nice pictures.

Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde


From: gunnora at bga.com (Gunnora Hallakarva)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Researching the beadmakers guild
Date: 31 Oct 1996 08:17:36 GMT

luiseach at aol.com says...
>What beadmaker's guild?  I've been looking for something along these lines
>and have found nothing.  In fact, lots of people will tell you that most
>beads are OOP.  There are some pretty good mundane references for medieval
>and renaissance use of beads in different parts of Europe, including one
>(I'd have to look up the exact organization name) that says seed beads are
>period.
>Luighseach nic Lochlainn
>Arts & Sciences Officer
>Barony of Dreiburgen (Caid)

Good Gods!

        Beads have been around for millenia... at least since 30,000BC.  
Millefiori-technique beads (usually called mosaic beads if they aren't Venetian) are likewise ancient, the technique of caning was known in Hellenistic Egypt and Classical Rome (ca. 300BC to 400AD), and I've even seen examples of Viking-made mosaic beads(ca. 800-1000 AD) that very much predated the Venetian variety (they 
reinvented the mosaic glass technique ca. late 1400's, but the bead industry didn't get going really good until the 1800s in Venice) .  

        As for seed beads, the Spanish imported Venetian-made seed beads to the 
New World at the very end of the SCA period (Columbus carried seed beads with him in 1492), however, before that seed beads had been being produced in India, and were first imported to Southeast Asia by Indian traders during the 1st century AD.

        Beads were produced throughout Europe from the Migration Age to the 
Renaissance:

Staraja LAdoga, Russia: Glass Beadmaking ca. 700-1000 AD.
Novgorod, Russia: Baltic amber beads ca. Prehistory to 12th century AD.
Kiev, Rissia: Glass beadmaking ca. 975-1200AD.
Norway: mosaic and lampworked glass beads, c. 800-1000AD.
Frankish tribes: beads of gold glass, garnet and amber throughout the period.
Germany from Hedeby, along the Elbe and the Rhine: glass beadmaking 5th century 
AD.
Konigsberg: amber beadmaking, ca. 900-1200
Lombards: garnet beadmaking, 5th century AD.
Sicily: coral beads from antiquity throughout the period.
Sardis: Glass beadmaking ca. 400-600
Persia: silver beads and pearl beads ca. 800-1100AD imported to Europe by the 
Vikings.
India: beads of carnelian, agate, onyx and garnet ca. 800-1100AD imported to Europe by the Vikings.

And  of course beads of glass (from Sidon, Tyre and Egypt), onyx and carnelian beads (from Yemen and India), emerald and sapphire beads (from Burma and Sri Lanka) and ivory beads (from Africa by way of Constantinople) were imported at various times throughout the period.

The best general work on the history and provenance of various beads is:

Dubin, Lois S..  The History of Beads from 30,000 BC to the Present.  New York: 
Harry N. Abrams. 1984.  ISBN 0-8109-0736-4.

The hardcover is expensive... at least $70, but I've been told that a paperback edition recently became available.
-- 
Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde


Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: lindahl at deshaw.com (Greg Lindahl)
Subject: Re: Researching the beadmakers guild
Organization: D. E. Shaw & Co.
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 1996 16:34:28 GMT

Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com> wrote:
>Dubin, Lois S..  The History of Beads from 30,000 BC to the Present.  New York: 
>Harry N. Abrams. 1984.  ISBN 0-8109-0736-4.
>
>The hardcover is expensive... at least $70, but I've been told that a paperback  
>edition recently became available.

Found it on the web:

by Lois Sherr Dubin , Togashi(Photographer) , Togashi 

Concise Edition 
Paperback 
List: $19.95 -- Amazon.com Price: $17.96 -- You Save: $1.99(10%) 
Published by Harry N Abrams (Pap)
Publication date: September 1, 1995
ISBN: 0810926172

The paperback edition is only a "concise edition" -- has anyone seen
it? My lady and I think we saw a copy in the Corning Glass Museum gift
shop and didn't buy it because we were disappointed by pictures
weren't included in the smaller edition. In fact Corning was also a
bit disappointing; they don't have most of their 500-1600 western
european stuff on display. Who wants to see 500 nearly-identical
baroque bowls?

Gregory Blount


From: sindara at pobox.com (Sharon R. Saroff)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Researching the beadmakers guild
Date: Fri, 01 Nov 1996 04:22:31 GMT

The History of Beads paperback edition is missing the lovely and
useful bead timeline that the hardcover has.  I think the hardcover
edition is well worth the money.

There are lots of sources of the use of beads.  Just look at books on
historical embroidery and jewelry.  You will find lots of information.

In 1984 I started the East Kingdom Beadworkers Guild.  We bosted some
200 members at one point society-wide.  There is still an East Kingdom
guild, but it is very different from what I started.  I think the lady
in charge is doing the best she can.  I am in Ansteorra now and am too
busy to run a guild, but I still teach at events.  

I have a booklet that I wrote up called "Scouting out the Bead".  It
is an overview the history of beadwork and beads with an emphasis on
period stuff.  It is also what I use to help people find information.
I have an extensive bibliography attached to it. 

If you are interested in more information, post me privately.

Sindara


From: horstmann at aol.com
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Researching the beadmakers guild
Date: 17 Nov 1996 07:29:40 GMT

>The paperback edition is only a "concise edition" -- has anyone seen
>it? My lady and I think we saw a copy in the Corning Glass Museum gift
>shop and didn't buy it because we were disappointed by pictures
>weren't included in the smaller edition. In fact Corning was also a
>bit disappointing; they don't have most of their 500-1600 western
>european stuff on display. Who wants to see 500 nearly-identical
>baroque bowls?

>Gregory Blount

I own the concise edition referred to above.  It is a nice reference to
beads from around the world.  There aren't as many pictures as the
hardbound version, but there are still a lot of pictures here.  There is a
very nice four page pull out time line of bead manufacture included as
well.  For those who can't justify the hardcopy expense, this is still a
very nice work.

Horst von Horstmann


From: Stephen & Colleen Mills <smills at mail.fn.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Researching the beadmakers guild
Date: Sun, 17 Nov 1996 10:01:29 -0600

I was given a book a couple of years ago that has been a great primary
source for my jewelry making.It is called The History Of Beads from
30,000BC to the present by Sherr Dublin.It is hard covered with 254 full
color plates and more B & W illistrations.The ISBN is 0-8109-0736-4
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes beads or makes items for
A&S competitions.

Lady Clare


Date: Mon, 05 May 1997 13:54:33 -0700
From: Eric & Lissa McCollum <ericmc at primenet.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Wire wrapping

DianaFiona at aol.com wrote: But oddly enough,
> although the Italians in particular made a lot of wonderful glass beads, they
> *don't* seem to have worn them! They were made for trading and seem to have
> been reguarded as tacky, primative things.... Silly people!

Actually, while this is the usual opinion on beads in our period,
if you look at paintings and objects from our time period you will
find that beads went in and out of fashion. For instance, in the
mid 1400's there seems to have been quite a fad of wearing bead
(probably about size 9 or 10 seed bead) necklaces with those wonderful
Burgundian dresses. If you have access to Boucher's "20,000 Years
of Fashion", check out the painting by Petrus Christus called
"Portrait of a Girl", c 1470. It shows a three tier necklace made
probably with a double needle technique, with seed beads, bugle beads,
and pearls. I have around a half dozen other pictures of that style dress
with similar necklaces.

In the late 1500's, you can find many examples of beaded necklaces. I particularly like the necklace in the painting dated 1589 of Elizabeth Brydges, shown in the book "Tudor and Jacobean Jewellery" by Diana Scarisbrick. It is
similar to a discription later in the book, "Pearls also contrasted with beads
of coloured glass or jet threaded into multiple strands and worn bib-style 
with low-cut dresses."

I have many pictures of beads threaded into hair styles, or worn as a 
circlet. But beads weren't used only for adorning the body. I suggest
looking in a book called "Glass Beads from Europe", by Sibylle Jargstorf.
It shows a wonderful Host holder from Lower Saxony germany, from the second
half of the thirteenth centrly. It is encrusted glass beads and pearls.
There is also a glass mirror decorated with tiny glass beads from the
same area and time. "The use of glass beads in ecclesiatical beadwork
was apparently soon followed by a restricted use in profane ornaments"

And depending on your cut-off date of 'period', you might want to check
out the book "Embriodery masterworks" by Virginia Churchill Bath. It shows
an incredible beaded layette basket, from 1645. The basket is made of
wire covered with beads. Then various figures have been made with beads
embroidered onto parchment, and attatched to the basket. I have found
several other examples of this kind of basket, but none earlier than
1600.

> Of course, pearls
> were very popular, but there were not many other gems made into beads--stone
> cutting is very hard to do well with period methods, not to mention extremely
> time-consuming. This is why the metal work in period is usually of so much
> higher a quality, by modern standards, than the cut stones. Rosaries were
> quite popular, of course, and were made of a wide variety of materials, but
> still the expensive ones were more likely to have been made of gold or silver
> beads than stone or glass.

There were other possibilities. Beads made of rose petals are period. And jade
was carved in wonderfully skilled ways. Also, if you look in the book 
"The History of Beads" by Lois Sherr Dubin, you can find a fiftheenth century
rorasy of hollow agate beads, each of which opens to reveal a scene in 
enameled gold. On the same page is a carved boxwood prayer bead made in
Flanders about 1500 that you have to see to believe. I have never seen such
detail!

Ok, I will stop now, or you'll never shut me up. My point is simply that
I have found more to the history of beads in our period than trade beads
and rosaries.

Gwendolen Wold


Date: Wed, 04 Jun 1997 00:53:38 -0700
From: Eric & Lissa McCollum <ericmc at primenet.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Looking for documention on period seed beads

Thistlekp at aol.com wrote:
> If you know of documention for period seed beads or using them with a loom.
> Please send back it is needed for a A&S compition. Thank you, Lord Bryan
> Morrison, Outlands.

Glass seed beads are period. You might want to check the books:

"The History of Beads" by Lois Sherr Dubin
"Glass Beads from Europe" by Sibylle Jargstorf
"Early Sixteenth Century Glass Beads in the
  Spanish Colonial Trade" by Marvin T. Smith
  and Mary Elizabeth Good
"Beadwork" Shire album 57 by Pamela Clabburn
"Bead Embroidery" by Joan Edwards

And, check out various pictures  from the mid
fifteenth century. The one I can think of
off the top of my head (because I just finished
a recreation of the necklace in it) is called
'Portrait of a Girl' by Petrus Christus. It
shows a 3 tier seed bead and bugle bead necklace.
There seems to have been quite a fad for seed
bead necklaces at the time, worn with those
Burgundian dresses with the V neckline in front.

As to loom work...well, I have been hunting that
for a couple of years now. If you come up with
any documentation for it, I would LOVE to know
where you find it. As far as I know, loomed
glass seed beads are post period. (I have talked
to a gentleman who said he knew of heddle loomed
beads in the Byzantine era, but I never was able
to pin him down on his sources.)

Gwendolen Wold


From: Eric & Lissa McCollum <ericmc at primenet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beading and Rosaries
Date: 16 Jul 1997 15:19:01 -0700

Matthew Downing wrote:
> Does anyone out there know anything about period
> rosaries? I would like to do one for an upcoming
> A&S competition, but I just don't know where to start
> looking on the 'net. Any suggestions? (If you're
> reading this Rashid .... )Any help would be vastly,
> vocally and enthusiastically appreciated!
> 
> Melisant (posing as Matthew)

On the 'net, I'm not sure. But may I suggest two
books to look in:

"The History of Beads" by Lois Sherr Dubin has a
section on prayer beads.

"Glass Beads from Europe" by Sibylle Jargstorf
should be extremely useful as well. (This is
my current favorite book to suggest for bead
documentation.)

As with many other things, the answer depends
on where and when you are looking, and what you
want to make it out of. I suggest looking also
at paintings and woodcuts from the time and place 
you are interested in.

Gwendolen Wold


Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 11:57:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: Luiseach at aol.com
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Beads

Anyone in "downtown" Caid who is interested in period beads need only hie him
or herself to the Mingei Museum in San Diego's Balboa Park to see a TRULY
WONDERFUL exhibit of beads from all over the world and many time periods.
 The exhibit includes a bead timeline with pictures and actual examples of
the beads.  The Mingei Museum has not been in its present location for very
long--to find it, you need to locate the "House of Charm" on a Balboa Park
map.  This show is well worth going to, just for the beauty of the items
shown, and, if you get really inspired, there are several outstanding bead
stores in the area.  <Usual disclaimers, I don't work for any of them, just
spend money there>

Luighseach nic Lochlainn
Dreiburgen, Caid


Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 00:48:24 -0500From: Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com>To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.eduSubject: Viking Beads The Vikings not only had beads, they had extraordinarily beautiful andintricate beads.  In fact, although they did import quite a lot of beadsfrom various places, the most elaborate beads I have seen were millefioribeads produced in Scandinavia at either Helgo or Paiviken.  Native beadswere also produced in amber, jet, bone, walrus ivory and gold.   Glassbeads from a variety of sources are found in graves, including spheres,tubes, melons, cornerless cubes, gold sandwich beads, glass mosaic(millefiori) beads, and glass seed beads. (The seed beads were found atCoppergate and were sewn onto clothing). Other beads were imported from theArabs (silver beads, Indfian carnelian beads, rock crystal beads, Red Seacowrie shell beads, Syrian and Egyptian glass mosaic beads), Russiantraders (etched carnelians from Iran), and Byzantine glass mosaic beads.It's also interesting to note that the earliest glass bead in North Americawas recovered from the L'Aux Meadows Vinland site.  Beads seem to indicatewealth and status, and are mostly found in women's graves.Here are some excellent sources for Viking beads:Dubin, Lois Sherr,  The History of Beads from 30,000 B.C. to the Present.New York: Harry N. Abrams. 1987.  ISBN 0-8109-0736-4[Get this book.  It was expensive, but it was worth every bit of the cost.Dubin covers a huge variety of beads, with excellent photos of the actualperiod beads.  On pp. 73-77 Dubin discusses Viking beads and has somephotographs of beads that made me drool.]Astrup, E.E. and Arnfinn G. Andersen.  "A Study of Metal Foiled Glass Beadsfrom the Viking Period.  Acta Archaeologica (Copenhagen) 58 (1987) pp.222-228.[Be sure you are looking at Acta Arch. from Copenhagen, not the oneproduced in Budapest.  The article discusses scientific analysis of metalfoiled glass beads from Birka and Kaupang.  The beads are formed with aglass core, then a thin layer of silver (even in beads which appear to usegold), followed by a transparent top layer of clear glass, or yellow-ambercolored glass, which makes the beads appear to be made with gold foil inthe middle instead of silver.  These beads come in two types: the first aresingle round beads, the other are longer beads which look like four roundbeads stuck together.]
Tortzig, Gustaf.  "beads made of cowrie shells from the Red Sea and theIndian Ocean found on Gotland."  Trade and Exchange In prehistory:  Studiesin Honor of Berta Stjernquist.  eds. Birgitta Hardh et al.  Lund:  LundsUniversitets Historiska Museum. 1988. pp. 287-294.The following I am still waiting to get from Inter Library Loan:Calmer, J.  "Trade beads and bead-trade in Scandinavia ca. 800-100 A.D."Acta Archaeological Lundensia. 1977.Lundstrom, A.  "Bead Making in Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages."Early Medieval Studies 9. 1976.Lundstrom, A.  Excavations at Helgo VII: Glass, Iron, Clay.  Stockholm. = 1981.Gunnora HallakarvaHerskerinde


Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 14:33:40 -0700
From: Eric & Lissa McCollum <ericmc at primenet.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Viking Beads 

For those who are researching beads, I have a possible resource for you. There is a series of chat rooms run by Pete Francis, who is the director of the Center for Bead Research. One of these chat rooms is specifically for 'Students, Academics, and Researchers'. The rooms are only 'live' if someone else happens to be in there, but you can post a question and have people take a crack at it.

You can find them at
http://www.thebeadsite.com/CHAT-DEX.html  .

Gwendolen Wold


Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 08:40:44 -0700 (MST)
From: Janine Goldman-Pach <jgoldpac at U.Arizona.EDU>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Beads

I've managed to answer my own question to some extent.  These are the web
references I found to the museum:

Artcom Museum Tour: Mingei International Museum Of World Folk Art
http://www.artcom.com/museums/nv/mr/92122-12.htm

Mingei Museum - MINGEI INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF FOLK ART
http://artscenecal.com/MingeiMsm.html

Mingei Info - Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art
http://www.sddt.com/features/mingei/mingeiinfo.html

They give directions and other basic information on contacting the museum.

Inui
inui at geocities.com


From: MstrssMara at aol.com
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 1997 22:10:42 -0400 (EDT)
To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: Re: ANST - Beads

> Help!  One of my Shire members is desperately looking for good
>  documentation on period beads between 400 - 1000 AD  It would particularly
>  help if there were something we could download or e-mail me as she has no
>  computer.  

Try the History of Beads by Lois Sherr Dubin.

This book covers beads from 30,000 B.C. to the Present......there are two
versions of the book.  One hard bound and the other paperback.  The hardbound
is the more complete version.

Email me privatly if you have anyother questions....

Mara


Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 22:33:24 -0700
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Shisha Mirrors

<snip>
And for those interested in beads, I happened to stumble across:

http://www.mcs.net/~simone/beadfairies.html

Which is a HUGE site and has a bead FAQ with lots and lots of source
lists for those interested in beads. ;)

ciorstan


Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 14:07:36 -0500 (EST)
From: Carol Thomas <scbooks at neca.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Glass beads

>I am looking for titles of good documentable bead books.

Beadwork by Shire Publications.  Part of a series published in Britain on
history and archeology of Great Britain.  Author is Clabburn.

Lady Carllein


Subject: ANST - Commercial Reproductions of Medieval Glass Beads
Date: Mon, 05 Jan 98 06:31:43 MST
From: Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu, ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG, mstrssmara at aol.com

I wanted to point out the following web site for those of you who may be
interested:

http://www.webpak.net/~cclemo/

This merchant is reproducing beads from the Viking Age, Islamic beads,
Phonecian beads, eye beads (found everywhere in period), Frankish beads,
and whole Viking necklaces pre-strung.

If you make glass beads yourself, the website has good color photos of the
beads which can serve as a reference.  I don't know about the beads from
other cultures, but the Viking beads are all accurate. And, of course,
those looking to purchase beads for a special costume accessory may be
interested as well.

I have not dealt with this merchant, so this is neither a recommendation
nor an advertisement, but I thought it was a useful resource and should be
shared.

Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde


Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1998 04:37:58 -0500
From: Melanie Wilson <MelanieWilson at compuserve.com>
To: LIST SCA arts <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Glass bead list & Anglo Saxon Beads

For the really dedicated to beads of the Pagan Anglo Saxon period, there is
a new book due out Jan, The Glass Beads of Anglo Saxon England c.AD 400-700,
but at GBP50 or $90 (publishers retail prices) it is for the obsessed I
think(OK right that probably includes me once I recover from Christmas !),
but I guess you can always hassle your library !

Mel 


Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 12:34:28 -0500
From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Glass bead making

> > Tried to get some interest in putting together a norse kiln/furnace but
> > that looks like a project for next year.  I really want to do one. I
> > have some ideas on how to make and use one.
> >
> > Cynthia de W.

>         Greetings, M'lady Cynthia,
>
>   Do you have any documentation you could point me to on the building
> and design of one of these?  I've seen the stuff on Regia's pages (wonderful
> site), but I'd like more as it's not very indepth.  Any pointers
> appreciated.
>
>         Gawain Kilgore / Gregory Stapleton

There are some pictures on the World of the Vikings CD from Pastforward
Ltd. UK, attached to the Jorvik Viking Center. That thing runs about
$100 though, and requires a quicktime fix from the Pastforward folks
(available over the internet) to run on modern programs.

It depicts the making of beads and sort of shows the bead furnace.

Magnus


Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 18:28:50 -0700
From: "Cathie" <Jorunn at qadas.com>
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: Glass bead making

>when did glass bead become popular?
>what period?
>
>and what kind of glass was it..and did it have colors or designs
>
>mickey

   Glass bead making has been around forever!  The great part about glass
beads is they fall in every time period all over the world.  They had both
opaque and transluscent and most major colors.  The Egyptians were the first
to get credit for the first stable glass industry due to the vast amount of
beads found in the tombs.  They had all types of beads including bugle
beads.

   Glass was a lot "softer" up until the 16th century, which allowed it to
burn at a lower temperature than the glass today.  Thus, they were able to
melt glass rods over an oil lamp.   The intensity of the flame was
heightened by a shot of air (oxygen) through a metal tube.  People who
worked over a flame in this manner were referred to as lampworkers.  The
composition of glass is silica (sand) soda and lime, potash and lead oxide.
Glass was higher in soda lime and lead oxide from Egyptian time to the late
middle ages.  This was the element that made glass easier to melt at lower
temperatures.  The atomic structure of glass is amorphous compared to the
crystaline structure of gemstones, etc.  This allowed glass to go from a
solid state to a liquid state the consistency of honey.   Well, I've just
given you a quick science class in glass bead making.  I have been
lampworker going on three years.  I run a Lampworkers Guild in the Barony of
Caerthe in the Outlands every Tuesday evening.  I teach my class at every
opportunity and have spent many weekends traveling so people can get a taste
of what it feels like to make ones own glass bead.   I will be teaching a
bead making class at the Known World A&S Symposium in Boise, ID in March.
If you want more information I'll be glad to help. :)  :)

Lady Jorunn nic Lochlainn CP, SM, AM
aka Cathie Brailey
Arvada, CO


Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 00:47:08 -0600
From: Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Norse Bead Kiln

Several people have asked about the Norse-style bead kiln.

I'm in the process of building a webpage on Norse glass beads and necklaces, and 
it includes several good photos of the reconstruction of the kiln and actual
bead making technique in the reconstructed kiln.

I have a prototype for this webpage up on my website, but not linked to
anything.  It is woefully incomplete, however the bibliography is extensive and 
all of it is there.

If you are interested, take a look at:
http://www.realtime.com/~gunnora/vikbeads.htm

Just remember that this is a "Viking Answer Lady" article in preparation, so
don't give me grief about missing text or images!

Hopefully I will get this software manual completed sometime Real Soon Now
(yay! no more 20 hour workdays!) and will be able to finish the webpage, plus 
the three or four other VAL pages I have almost ready.

::GUNNORA::


Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 08:35:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Ioan verch David <lostboy_ioan at yahoo.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Bead Help

> I am looking for information on mid 15th century beads.
>
> I would like to produce and document a necklace I have seen in a
> painting in a book. The beads look like seed beads, but I am uneducated
> in this subject and would like to do the job correctly.
>
> mahee

Lady Grizel has a good web page with lots of info.  I believe her
e-mail is there as well.  She loves to talk beads

http://www.sound-check.com/beads/

Ioan


Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 10:32:00 -0600
From: KATHARINE WHISLER <KWHISLER at kentlaw.edu>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: RE: documentation for beads

Readily accessible (though not the most scholarly) documentation for beads:

"Glass Beads from Europe" by Sibylle Jargstorf (lots of pictures)
"Bead Embroidery" by Joan Edwards (See the section on beads for rosaries.
No reliable pictures.)
"The History of Beads : From 30,000 B.C. to the Present" by Lois Dubin
(lots of pictures)

In my opinion, pearls would be a perfectly acceptable choice-- there are
many portraits of necklaces in similar styles made from pearls.  (Sorry,
I'm away from my books right now.) However, I would not use the
"rice-crispy" shaped pearls-- get something fairly round if you can.  Glass
beads are also entirely possible, as are stone ones.

Kathy Whisler/Katerina Arondel


Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 17:22:05 -0500
From: Warren & Meredith Harmon <ravenleaf at juno.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: documentation for beads

> A friend who is into beads has gleefully agreed to assist me with making
> a beaded necklace, such as featured in the Hieronimo Custodis protrait
> of Elizabeth Brydges, 1586.  Working out the pattern is not problem, she
> says it's a simple necklace, but she would like some additional
> We were thinking seed pearls
> and garnets for the outfit this necklace is to be worn with, but she was
> thinking maybe some jet... The beads in this portrait appear to be black.

There was quite a thriving jet mine in what is now Poland during the
middle ages; unfortunately, it's played out today.  Jet was a very
popular stone, and easily worked with a minimum of tools.  And, since
"jet" is a different name for "hard coal", it's readily available.  If
you have problems locating some decent chunks, contact me - I live below
the PA coal regions.

-Caro  (don't pay more than $9 per pearl - anything more than that is
highway robbery, except for Tahititan black, which is OOP anyway!  ;-)


Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 11:23:41 -0500
From: Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: bead work

Anna de Byxe asked:
>The painting

(the one at http://home.ici.net/~beowulf/jessica/beadwork/images/beauty.jpg)

> was nice and clear, what I'm wondering though is, are those
>metal or glass beads on her circlet?

I don't think you can tell from a painting at all.  From the earliest
times, people were making gold-foiled glass beads.  These are glass beads
that have a layer of silver foil added to the entire surface, and which
then have a thin coating of amber-colored glas added to completely seal in
the foil.

>From even a few feet away these look like gold beads.  In modern
high-quality photos it's usually impossible to tell the difference between
gold-foiled beads and real gold beads.  I doubt intensely that one could
make that differentiation in a painting, no matter how accurate.

I was amazed when I've gone to see Viking glass beads how many that I
thought were metal turned out to be gold-foiled or silver-foiled.

Gunnora Hallakarva
Baroness to the Court of Ansteorra


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 23:13:25 -0400
From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Some Glass Resources

Since I was doing these links for one person, why not share.

Glasswork and Beading
http://www.inspirationfarm.com/gg/articles/supplies.html
http://www.larkbooks.com/home.nav/lb/supplies_beading.html
http://www.beads2u.com/
http://www.asgs-glass.org/
http://www.regia.org/glass.htm
http://members.aol.com/anniebee2/links.htm
http://www.el-dorado.ca.us/~flameon/
http://www.innercite.com/~flameon/welcome.html
http://www.innercite.com/~flameon/catalog/catalog.html
http://www.mickelsenstudios.com/articles.htm
http://www.auralens.com/
http://elaine.teleport.com/~paulec/beadbooks.html
http://www.teleport.com/~paulec/beadbooks.html
http://www.teleport.com/~paulec/beadcatalogs.html
http://www.mcs.net/~simone/beadfairies.html
http://www.mcs.net/~simone/bres.html
http://www.mcs.net/~simone/beadnet.html
http://www.thebeadsite.com/
http://beadwork.miningco.com/
http://www.inspirationfarm.com/gg/articles/article1.html
http://www.inspirationfarm.com/gg/articles/articles.html
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/7249/bibliography.html
http://www.caravanbeads.com/
http://www.chihuly.com/
http://www.coppercoyote.com/
http://www.dichromagic.com/
http://www.craftweb.com/org/enamel/enamel.htm
http://www.eurotool.com/beadnet.htm
http://www.teleport.com/~paulec/beadshops.html
http://www.firemtn.com/
http://www.ghgcorp.com/esmitman/
http://www.olywa.net/frantzbead/
http://www.olywa.com/frantzbead/
http://www.a1server.com/beadluv/index.html
http://cgi.exo.com/~jht/forum/index.cgi?noframes
http://www.teleport.com/~paulec/glassbeadmakingFAQ.html
http://www.hotglass.com/adindx.html
http://www.hotglass.com/index.html
http://exo.com/~jht/hotglass/access/vol9/v9n3.html#2a
http://www.inspirationfarm.com/index.html
http://www.sound-check.com/beads/
http://www.hackerglass.com/
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/7249/glinks.html
http://www.kroma.com/
http://www.dnaco.net/~scababe/medievalbead/
http://beadwork.about.com/library/weekly/aa050499.htm?PM=69_6_T&cob=home
http://www.inspirationfarm.com/gg/articles/safety.html
http://www.commnet.edu/QVCTC/student/crowe/lingo.html
http://www.hotglass.com/hacker/hacker.html
http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/
http://www.meredithglass.com/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/MikeFirth/
http://www.gpnet.it/marketti/ermor/home.htm
http://www.teleport.com/~paulec/resources.html
http://www.sgb.org/
http://www.siu.edu/~siuglass/
http://www.steinertindustries.com/
http://www.artglass1.com/index.htm
http://home.ici.net/~beowulf/jessica/beadwork/

M. Magnus Malleus, OL, Atlantia, GDH


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 07:55:33 -0500
From: Cindi Picou <cpicou at juno.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: A beading question

Semi-precious stone beads are VERY period. The earliest known beads were
of stones. The History of Beads (concise ed.) From 30,000 bc to the
Present, by Lois Sherr Dubin, Harry Abrams, Inc. Publishers, ISBN#
0-8109-2617-2 has a photo on page 11 of  "a group of early western Asian
stone beads made of hard stones including agate, rock crystal, sard,
carnelian, and jasper,  c. 4000-2000 bc."

It also states "By 2500 bc, beads produced for Sumerian royalty in the
city-state of Ur in southern Mesopotamia were of superb craftsmanship,
employing sophisticated goldsmithing techniques for granulation &
filigree."

As for glass beads, "The Phoenicians were highly skilled glass
beadmakers, borrowing many stylistic concepts from those with whom they
traded..." The Phoenician society was, of course, many years before the
Venetian's cornered the world market on glass beadmaking!

As far as colors/varieties; I would believe that you're unlimited in your
choices. Almost any gemstone was used for beads (ie:lapis lazuli, agate,
rock crystal, sard, carnelian, jasper, breccia, steatite, coral,feldspar,
& turquoise are all mentioned in "The History of Beads.) Glass beads were
made to mimic natural stone beads, or were taken to new levels, such as
millifiori and mosaic glass (mosaic glass beads were made as early as the
Hellenistic and Roman periods, 300 bc to ad 400)

I hope this helps. I am not very good with documentation, I just love
beads! (Of course, pearls are period also.)

Selina of the Wood
Barony Bordermarch


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 13:05:31 -0500
From: Cindi Picou <cpicou at juno.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: looking for beads

try a company called Fire Mountain Gems   1-800-423-2319
They sell wholesale prices to retail customers, and have just about
everything you need.

Selina of the Wood
Barony Bordermarch, Ansteorra


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 16:42:49 -0400
From: Irene leNoir <irene at ici.net>
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: looking for beads

>I'm looking for someone who sells good rocaille beads, also good 2 mm fake pearls.

I highly recommend Shipwreck Beads.  I find that their prices are usually
a lot better than Fire Mountain's, and I've always been very happy with
their selection and service.  They do charge a fee for their catalog, but
it is worth it, as it is 180 pages of color photos of beads.

Shipwreck Beads
2500 Mottman Rd SW
Olympia, WA 98512
(800) 950-4232
www.shipwreck.com

Catalog - $5 (MC, Visa, Discover)
          $6 check
   price includes priority mail

Jessica Clark


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 15:15:22 -0700
From: "Kirsten Garner" <kgarner1 at ix.netcom.com>
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: FYI - beads

I ran across this on another list and thought it might be of interest to
some people out there. :) I didn't even know there was such a group.

Julian ferch Rhys

-----Original Message-----
The Bead Forum is the bi-annual newsletter of the Society for Bead
Researchers.  I am looking for current research notes, short articles of up to
five pages in length (b&w illustrations are encouraged), requests for info, info
on bead exhibitions, book announcements, references to recent pubs on beads.
Both historical and prehistorical material is appropriate. The society web
site is:
http://www.spiretech.com/~lester/sbr/index/index.htm.

Send electronic or paper submissions to the Forum editor:

Smoke (Michael A.) Pfeiffer
Society for Bead Research
845 Cagle Rock Road
Russellville, Arkansas  72802

(501) 968-2354   Ext. 233
mpfeiffe/r8_ozark at fs.fed.us
fax:  501-964-7518


Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 01:41:38 EDT
From: <DianaFiona at aol.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: looking for beads

In a message dated 7/22/99 2:18:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time, cpicou at juno.com
writes:
<< try a company called Fire Mountain Gems   1-800-423-2319
 They sell wholesale prices to retail customers, and have just about
 every >>

    They also have a website, if anyone is interested...... It's at:    <A
HREF="http://www.firemtn.com/">Fire Mountain</A>

                    Ldy Diana


Date: Sat, 11 Sep 1999 13:27:24 -0400
From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Glass beads book.

I posted this yesterday to some friends, however some of you may
be interested in it if you haven't seen it yet:

JARGSTORF, S: GLASS BEADS FROM EUROPE [with Price Guide] ; US
1996 (21x28cm) softcover 16Opp 475 colour photos.
Phoenician, Celtic, Viking, Venetian, African, Bavarian,
Bohemian, Dutch, French and Russian styles.

Use bestbookbuys.com to find a compatible price / dealer for
yourself. Prices vary quite widely. It's current and it's relatively
cheap. I paid about $24 yesterday.

Magnus


From: Cynthia Virtue <cvirtue at thibault.org>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beads
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 16:53:34 -0400

A great place to start is: http://www.medievalbeads.com/

K&N wrote:
> I have an abundance of beads.  Seed beads, larger beads, polymer clay beads,
> and a few beading supplies.  Is there any information out there on making
> beaded objects for our time periods?  I've seen a few portraits with nice
> necklaces out there.  What else might be made in period?  Can you suggest
> any books that would be appropriate?
> 
> Since I'd like to use up my supply, if I can find some appropriate things to
> make, I might share with my local group and see if we can have some fun.  I
> know I'm not the only person out there hoarding beads. :-)
> 
> Nan


From: val_org at hotmail.com (Gunnora Hallakarva)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beads
Date: 16 Oct 2001 07:21:48 -0700

Nan asked:
> I have an abundance of beads.  Seed beads, larger beads, polymer clay beads,
> and a few beading supplies.  Is there any information out there on making
> beaded objects for our time periods?  I've seen a few portraits with nice
> necklaces out there.  What else might be made in period?  Can you suggest
> any books that would be appropriate?
> Since I'd like to use up my supply, if I can find some appropriate things to
> make, I might share with my local group and see if we can have some fun.  I
> know I'm not the only person out there hoarding beads. :-)

I have some info on Viking beads and necklaces, available at:
http://www.vikinganswerlady.org/vikbeads.htm

::GUNNORA::


From: Heather Rose Jones <hrjones at socrates.berkeley.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beads
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 12:15:26 -0700
Organization: University of California, Berkeley

K&N wrote:
> I have an abundance of beads.  Seed beads, larger beads, polymer clay beads,
> and a few beading supplies.  Is there any information out there on making
> beaded objects for our time periods?  I've seen a few portraits with nice
> necklaces out there.  What else might be made in period?  Can you suggest
> any books that would be appropriate?
> 
> Since I'd like to use up my supply, if I can find some appropriate things to
> make, I might share with my local group and see if we can have some fun.  I
> know I'm not the only person out there hoarding beads. :-)

One really fascinating, but under-reproduced, type of medieval bead-work
are the seed-bead "pictures" found on ecclesiastical items (altar
cloths, but occasionally vestments such as stoles or miters) in certain
regions of Germany.  Examples come from at least the 13-15th centuries,
and the largest single collection seems to be at Halberstadt cathedral. 
Many of these items are published in:

Schuette, Marie.  1927 (vol. I) & 1930 (vol. II).  Gestickte
Bildteppiche und Decken des Mittelalters.  Verlag von Karl W. Hiersemann
in Leipzig.

although I can't say how easy a book it is to get ahold of.

The basic technique involves couching short strings of sead beads onto a
basis of parchment, sometimes covered by cloth or metal foil.  The
design motifs are extremely similar to those found in contemporary
embroidery of the same regions, and in fact the use of strings of beads,
following the lines of the design, produces an effect very similar to
that of lines of split stitch embroidery in Opus Anglicanum type
embroidery.  (It's a technique and effect very different from that found
in later "bead pictures" which depend on counted grids.)

Tangwystyl
*********
Heather Rose Jones
hrjones at socrates.berkeley.edu
*********


From: antoniadt at aol.com (AntoniaDT)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Date: 22 Oct 2001 01:38:36 GMT
Subject: Re: Beads

Also you could try Grizel's website for sources and some instructional info. 
She is one of the recognized sources in the SCA for such information.

Medievalbeads.com

Antonia da Troina


From: The Cow Goddess <rouquinne at look.ca>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period bead Information
Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2004 14:15:47 -0500
Organization: Ottawa Pastures Central

Achbar ibn Ali <achbar at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Where can I find that Please?

i like Grizel's Bead Pages at:
http://www.medievalbeads.com/

angela


From: "Jenn W" <jenn at scrapsoflife.com>
Date: November 7, 2008 3:33:44 PM CST
To: <trimaris-temp at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [SPAM][tri-temp] looking for beads

Online http://www.sfjssantafe.com/ and http://www.firemountaingems.com
 are my favorite sites for finding most
 of what I've ever needed, bead and finding-wise.

Alternately (if you only 
need a few) you could make your own from polymer clay or drill them with a 
handheld tool if what you're finding are wood or clay (just go slowly and
 buy extras in case of mishaps).  

Depending on what you need it for you might also want to check thrift shops, 
etc. for costume jewelry that you can repurpose. 



Etain


From: Catrin ferch Maelgwn <ladycatrin at gmail.com>
Date: August 4, 2009 12:08:33 PM CDT
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] ISO sources for beadwork on garments

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 11:00 AM, Castellana Donea <castellana.donea at yahoo.com> wrote:
<<< I am trying to find sources and examples on beaded garments (Western Europe
1200-1500) If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appriciate any help.

Lady Castellana Donea >>>

You might try this site:
http://www.medievalbeads.com/ - lots of good stuff on the lefthand sidebar
under "research images."

-Catrin ferch Maelgwn


From: "willowdewisp at juno.com" <willowdewisp at juno.com>
Date: November 7, 2010 7:55:11 PM CST
To: ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org
Subject: [Ansteorra] Pictures of real viking beads

I was so excited about Northkeep having a class on making glass bead that I started to some research on bead  and came upon this wonderful site. 
It has some really great pictures of real Norse necklaces. I have a question --Were the necklaces always worn attached to the brooches or were they wore long some times???
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/vikbeads.shtml
willow


From the fb "SCA Arts and Sciences" group:

Daniel Leach
3 hrs · Vacaville, CA
In the process of making Japanese inspired prayer beads Ojuzu. I tried that beading clear stretch stuff, but the stones are too heavy and make it wonky. For those of you who string stones, pearls, beads what are some suggestions? I'm trying to find thin cording or rope? I has to buy a pearl reamer tool to slip wider stuff into said stone beads. Right now I'm using garnet and amethyst and tigers eye. Thanks in advance. 
Hosokawa Yoshitatsu. Shire of Wolfscairn, Principality of the Mists, west kingdom. (Sonoma county)



Kateryne Hindscroft 
I like to use a braided metal. However, it's not something you can find easily in places like Michaels or JoAnns. It comes in many different weights and you have to choose what works best for your particular project. I like it because it has more flexibility than the stuff you are using (which comes in different weights too, so you may have gotten the wrong weight.) I tend to get mine from https://www.shipwreckbeads.com/ because I can't find them in any local craft or bead stores. (Information overload is a big problem with that store, however, since they have extensive lists of products for stringing beads.)

Kimberley Meadows 
I usually use good silk thread. It needs to be replaced over time but it hold up pretty well. You can also dye (or buy colours) to match the pearls or stones so it blends in. A reamer is a good idea because the silk can be roughened by stones with sharp edges. 

Your piece is beautiful

Kimberley Meadows 
I like the idea of braided metal. I'm going to give that a try next time. 

For the bigger beads I usually knot the silk to hold them in place but there is a definite limit to the thread.

Kateryne Hindscroft 
LOL! Even knotting the silk braid didn't make it big enough to help. That rosary (a full Ave, not just a 5 decade one) slides all over the place. But for a rosary, that's ok. It just makes me feel insecure if I have it tucked into my belt. I know that it has 10 strands, since it's a 5 loop braid, but it still looks so scrawny!

Ashley Maxwell 
A silk thread in size b. Riogrande.com sells it. Two strands with an overhand knot between beads.
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Mya Crisson Barson 
There is a special cording or thread that comes in different thicknesses starting at 1/4 mm and going up from there that professional jewellers use. For pearls and heavy semi-previous stones which usually have a knot in between each bead use the 1mm thread.. pre-stretch it first or the weight of the beads will make it stretch out or sag over time.

Shannon Taylor 
Use jewelry wire. It's a braided metal that is flexible like thread but very, very strong.

Thea Glas 
In period they would have been strung on silk, with, as has been said, a knot in-between each bead...there really is no modern equivalent for silk...it comes in different sizes; get weaving or plyed (braided) silk...

Amon Bauer 
Fishing line.

Rosemary Tsukime 
Definitely stay away from anything stretchy. If you don't want to use silk for any reason, you may want to look at tiger tail.

Thea Glas 
Also, the reamers are not good for hard stones; you'll wreck the reamer or crack the bead, usually...fit the thread to the hole size...Pearls and soft stones are okay to ream out, but take it slowly so that you just enlarge the hole and don't damage the bead.

Giuliana del Chiaro 
I use a strand of silk beading thread with a strand of Nymo plastic thread. Double knot between each bead.

Alec Craig 
It all depends on what you’re trying to do and what you are using for beads and the combinations of materials.

Pearls are soft, can and are drilled with small holes
Stones are much harder and are drilled with much larger holes than pearls.
The reason stones have larger holes is primarily due to the fact that stones are much harder than pearls and require a thicker more robust drill bit. Because the drill bits have to work so much harder on stones more pressure is applied during drilling and the bits chatter or wobble more causing a larger hole as well.

If you try to match pearls with stones you will need a small thread to go through the holes on pearls but when you put in knots on the side of the pearls those knots will slip inside the much larger holes on stones.

Pearls are more expensive and generally strung in silk with knots in between them. The knots server several purposes. First it keeps the pearls from rubbing together and abrading each other. It also serves to not let them all spill onto the floor if the string is broken, if the string breaks you will usually only loose the one pearl where the string broke.

Silk does not stretch so much, but because you are knotting in between the pearls the knots over time can tighten and get smaller and the excess make the pearls looser in between the knots. When I string pearls I knot them very tightly and when I’m done I gently stroke the necklace for a while to tighten the knots and let the strand hang better. Also silk can get dirty just from your hands while stringing so I ware latex gloves while I string.

If you ream you can ream pearls gently and slowly or them may easily crack. Stones are much harder to ream because they are harder. They sell electric reamers but with and material heat can build in a fraction of a second and crack or burn the thing you are working so always do it slowly and gently.

Rachel Ost 
Fair - I use silk thread straight off the spool and condition it with beeswax. I'm particularly fond of Simply Silk in E.

Alec Craig 
Yes, want to be able to use the really big spools of silk. Do you use a metal needle or just condition the end with wax to make it stiff enough to kinda be its own needle?

Rachel Ost
I condition with enough wax for it to be its own needle, though, if I need a needle, I'll use a flexible beading needle (or I'll make my own with a bit of wire).

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Edited by Mark S. Harris	beads-msg	Page 2 of 27