Hollow Vintage Inside Painted Glass Beads, Round with Butterflies and Orchids, 16mm Diameter, Sets of 2
SKU: ASG-451
Sale price
$8.00
Shipping calculated at checkout
50 in stock
Description
- These beads are priced and sold by the set of 2
- Vintage, hollow, Chinese inside painted with butterflies and orchids, 16mm round
- These are very similar to ASG-450 except that the orange butterflies tend to be smaller and the blue ones larger with some yellow, overall the orchids are larger too.
- Each bead is a miniature work of art that includes 2 butterflies a spray of orchids. These are auspicious symbols with butterflies representing love, longevity, transformation and freedom. Orchids represent integrity, purity, nobility & modesty.
- During the Lunar New Year, or at weddings, orchids are displayed to welcome abundance, good fortune and fertility.
- These unique lightweight beads make distinctive earrings - especially for those who appreciate Asian arts, flowers, butterflies or any of the associated virtues. They are also easily sturdy enough to be used in necklaces, although I would be careful with bracelets.
- This ancient technique, also used for inside painted snuff bottles, involves many steps:
- First the hollow glass beads are blown, then the inside is roughened with acid and sand to create a surface that will accept the paint.
- The "brushes" consist of tiny bamboo handles with an L-shaped tip to which a tiny cluster of rabbit or weasel fur attached.
- The artist must then create the image in reverse order. When painting on canvas the background comes first, then the detail. In these beads the highlights, like the black detail on the wings of the blue butterflies, or the tips of the flowers, come first, then the background colors are filled in behind them. All this is done almost blind because the painter can't see much of what happening inside the bead.
- These beads were produced nearly 50 years ago in the Hengshui region of Hebei Province and have become highly collectible. They came to us when a store in Washington DC's Chinatown closed and sold us their inventory. We are pleased to offer them here.