Resin, Brown With Red Undertones, Ovals & Barrels, 12 to 14mm long, on Long 24-inch Strand
SKU: ORR-269
Sale price
$48.00
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Only 1 in stock
Description
- Long 24-inch strand of brown resin beads with red undertones, possibly Faturan
- Ovals, cylinders and barrels 11x8mm to 16x10mm
- Found in Cairo, these are characteristic of beads from worry bead sets or prayer strands found from Greece to Persia. Their silky feel is near irressistable
- Faturan is brand name (like Bakelite) for a phenolic thermosetting resin, named for a Saudi chemist believed to have invented this variant.
- A factory in Hamburg, Germany produced the beads and exported them mostly to East Africa and the Middle East starting around 1910.
- All phenolic thermosetting resins oxidize, taking on a darker color with age. Faturan has the wonderful characteristic that it always turns red with oxidation, regardless of the original color. From this came the name "Cherry Amber" used for red amber beads in Turkey and other parts of the Middle East
- Production of Faturan and other resins made in Hamburg slowed in the 1940s due to wartime supply shortages, and ended when Hamburg was devastatingly firebombed by the Allies in July of 1943.
- This makes the youngest Faturan beads over 80 years old and many are antique (ie over 100 years old). Worry beads and prayer strands made of Faturan amber resin command very high prices among collectors today.