Beads have been part of every culture throughout history. They have been made from many different materials such as seeds, berries, shell, gold, stone, silver, shell, and glass. The earliest solid glass beads were made by the Egyptians in 2500 BC. While the earliest of the solid glass beads were exotic rarities indicative of great wealth, this gradually changed until anyone able to pay commercial prices could purchase beads. The Egyptians created their glass beads by wrapping glass around heated rods. Glass bead making was learned by many other cultures such as the Greeks, the Romans and the Italians.
Eye beads, formed by placing concentric dots of contrasting color on the bead surface, were thought to ward off the effects of the evil eye. Numerous cultures throughout the ages thought that direct eye contact with afflicted humans, malicious spirits, or some deities could infect the viewer with illness, harm, or evil emotions. While individual interpretation varies, eyes were frequently displayed on amulets or painted onto buildings in order to provide protection. A preference for blue eye beads is of historical and cross-cultural significance. Eye beads, more than any other bead style, are seen across a vast array of cultures and have been worn for over 5,000 years (Dubin 106). The display of eye beads, unlike other bead forms, was not an indicator of wealth; however, the display of glass beads was usually limited to the affluent.
The beads on my necklace are based on pictures of beads from Rome around 100 AD. The Romans used two different techniques to form their glass beads. The glass could be either wound or drawn. I am using the wound glass technique. For the pressed beads, I chose a shade of yellow that matches a drawn and pressed Roman tabular bead (Bead #362a, Dubin 122). I thought that the color complemented the blue of the eye beads. Furthermore, eye beads themselves were frequently made with yellow or white eyes upon a blue matrix. While the blue eye beads (Bead #353, Dubin 122) upon which I modeled my efforts had the ‘eyes’ placed at alternating levels, I chose to place my ‘eyes’ on an uniform level because of personal preference. Additionally, my placement of the ‘eyes’ does follow a common placement pattern (Bead #13, Dubin, 122).
Dubin, Lois Sherr. The History of Beads: From 30,000 BC to the Present (Concise Edition) . New York: Abradale, 1987.
Jenkins, Cindy. Making Glass Beads . Asheville, Lark Books, 1997.
Newman, Harold. An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1981.
(Copyright 1999, Katherine Estep)