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The best way to keep up with the latest on beading is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information.
Current info is not always the easiest thing to locate. Fortunately, this article includes the latest available.
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What do you think the earliest recorded use of beads is is your first thought perhaps beadwork created by the Egyptians? Yes,
there certainly were a lot of beaded items in Egyptian times, but beadwork has been found dating back to the Stone Age (the Upper
Paleolithic period). Beads were added to rudimentary clothing; these beads were made of shells and ivory. Of course, the beads
werent as finely crafted as later beads, but still, they were beads. So even in caveman times, men and women were interested in
improving their clothing and appearance with the use of beads.
The beads that we tend to think of as traditional beadwork are called seed beads because of their small size they resemble seeds.
These beads were used in early beadwork the work of the Egyptians.
The Egyptians used a type of bead called faience beads. Our seed beads today are made of glass, but Egyptians were using beads
long before the invention of glass. Their faience beads were made from quartz particles fused together. A glaze was applied over
the quartz. The beads were then woven or strung into a variety of jewelry and clothing.
Beaded necklaces were found in the tomb of King Tut. Other beaded items in his tomb were a pair of slippers he perhaps wore as a
child and a hassock. Its unusual for ancient beadwork to survive since it was strung on cords made from leather and cloth, which
tend to disintegrate with age. We are fortunate to have these few examples to give us a perspective on the history of Egyptian
beading.
Some religious texts from India refer to beads being woven into hair and into horses tails. These references were recorded around
the 9th century BC. And beads were also widely used throughout Asia in ancient times. There were beaded items found in temples in
Japan that date back to 800 A.D.
Early beads were fashioned from shells, ivory and stone. Early Egyptians valued the beads according to the stone that was used to
create the beads. Different stones were thought to have different properties.
Lapis Lazuli, a beautiful blue stone, was believed to protect the wearers health. This stone was often fashioned into beads, as
were carnelian, feldspar, amethyst, turquoise and jasper many of the same stones we use today.
Glass was introduced as a component of beads around 1480, when Venice began drawing glass tubes and turning them into beads. Once
the technology for pulling glass tubes was invented, it was easy to suddenly produce thousands of beads, all uniform in size,
color and shape.
Modern jewelry and beading certainly benefits from the advances made in the production of beads, but theres no doubt that even
today, an individually handcrafted bead can be the star attraction of any beading piece.
About the Author: The author recently released The Ultimate Bead Lovers Guide. To find out more, check out http://www.beading.learnheaps.com for more information.
Source: www.isnare.com
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Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of beading. Now might be a good time to write down the
main points. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what's important.
Of course, it's impossible to put everything into just one article. Even if you don't know everything about beading, you've
done something worthwhile: you've expanded your knowledge.
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