Measurements: 17mm long x 13mm wide with a 2~3mm threading hole. Indian manufactured beads can be a bit inconsistent in size, so measurements are approximate.
Quantity per pack: 5 beads - chosen at random (beads may vary from the photos as each bead is individual - photo is a guide only).
Colours: Predominantly orange, with some blue black, brown, yellow and red. Every time you look you see something completely different. There are transparent as well as opaque sections and no two beads are alike. There are stars, streaks and explosions. These beads are totally amazing and any beader would love to have them in their stash.
Origin: Hand Made in India - We believe this bead to be a reproduction of a Trade Bead.
Method: "Furnace winding. A low-domed clay furnace under a tin roof open at the sides accommodates a dozen workers squatting in front of individual ports Wood is fed below ground, with a floor in the furnace (open at the centre) holding the glass away from direct flames. The worker builds a bead by rolling a bit of glass onto an iron rod (mandrel or pontil). He withdraws it from the furnace and may choose to leave it round or shape it on a flat plate or with a small steel scoop. Simple beads are knocked off the rod (which, being of iron, contracts faster than the glass) into a small clay pot kept just outside the protective door of his port. The beads cool slowly in the pot (anneal), preventing internal stresses from cracking them............Furnace-wound beads have black iron oxide hole deposits." This is an excerpt taken from - The World of Beads Monograph 7 - The Glass Beads of India - Peter Francis Jr.
Incorporate one or two into an eclectic necklace strand or use as a feature bead or beads on a necklace, or one at the front of a bracelet. Or just keep them as treasures in your stash! You might even like to put them out in a bowl for a talking point in your home.
Bead Shack made a huge bead haul around 2007, and these beads were quite old before that. The man we purchased them from used to collect large hauls of beads that became available, so who knows how long ago they were made! Our best guess would be around 1980s.
