1. Seven Layer Chevron Bead. Late 1400s 2. Seven Layer Chevron Bead. Late 1400s 3. A Speo Bead. Late 1600s 4. French Ambassador Bead 1850s 5. Baule Face Bead. Late 1800s 6. Black Decorated Bead. Late 1800s 7. Cornaline D’Aleppo Bead. Late 1800s 8. Tabular Bead. Late 1800s 9. Large Chevron Bead. Late 1800s 10. Square Edge Floral Bead Late 1800s 11. Yellow Black Swirl Bird. Late 1800s 12. Millefiori Bead. Late 1800s
Source: BigBeadLittleBead.com

The purpose of this article is to provide a thumbnail sketch of the history of one of the most popular trade items used in Native American craftwork. The use of the “seed bead” by Native Americans beginning in the 1800s was the result of hundreds of years of European glass technology intersecting with the westward expansion of the United States across the continent.

What is a Seed Bead?

The term seed bead is confusing as it is can refer to two different types of beads: beads made of nature’s seeds and beads produced in a factory. Obviously, our discussion is of glass seed beads produced in a factory.
Most seed beads are made of glass, however, other materials have been used such as those made of metal in France at the turn of the 19th century. Many of those metal beads were facetted.

Seed beads are made of drawn glass by literally drawing or pulling a hollow mass of glass into a long tube. This pulling can be done by one person alone, by two people or mechanically. The process looks like a taffy pull. The drawn glass tube is then cut into small pieces and then goes through several more processing steps in order to produce seed beads.

Venetian Glass Industry: Emergence of Glass Beads as a Global “Trade Currency” During Age of Discovery

The foundations for glass bead production in Venice were laid before 1500 AD. All glass production factories where moved to the island of Murano to protect the secrets of the Venetian glass making trade that was sought worldwide.

Venetian beadmakers used revolutionary glass making techniques for the time that greatly improved industrial production. This allowed them to overcome the earlier dominance of India and Far East Asia as competitors.

European glass-makers mass-produced huge quantities of beads from the 16th century through the 19th century during a period of exploration that extended to the corners of the earth. Most explorers, traders and missionaries carried glass beads with them as gifts or objects of barter to the native populations. European traders learned to identify local tastes in items used in personal adornment, and responded with appropriate choices to enhance their chances of success in their trade and travels.

A lively bead trade existed initially in most regions of Africa and beads made in Europe were then transported to West Africa by the European traders in their sailing ships, to be used as currency to purchase gold, ivory, palm oil and even slaves. Thus, the term “Trade Beads” typically applies to beads made predominately in Venice and Bohemia and, to a lesser extent, in other European countries from the late 1400s through to the early 1900s and traded in Africa and later in the Americas. This “trade” period peaked from the mid 1800s through to the early 1900s when literally millions of these beads were produced and traded.

Venetians dominated this market and produced the majority of the beads during this time. By the 18th Century, 44,000 pounds of Venetian glass beads were being produced each week and exported around the world. This came to an end following the campaign of Napoleon and the fall of the Republic of Venice.

This industry was considered indispensable, and for centuries they did everything they could to keep production techniques a secret. Severe penalties were used to prevent glass makers from leaving and setting up shop elsewhere. But monopolies do not last forever and many other countries worked to develop their own glass bead industries. The most successful of these was a forested and mountainous region of northern Bohemia, nowadays part of the Czech Republic.

Tracking a conquistador with beads: DeSoto Identified by Chevron Beads in Georgia!
Beads often reveal long-lost histories of countries, cultures, and people. For example, in November 2009, archaeologists with Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History unearthed the first evidence of conquistador Hernando de Soto’s stay in Georgia, in the U.S., in 1540. The evidence used to make this determination is beads!

From European Glass Factories to Native American Material Culture

By the end of the 17th century, Czech glass factories had achieved worldwide recognition when the Czechs became masters in the art of pressed glass. Later, toward the end of the 19th century, seed beads became a major production item, making Czech glass beads the most popular choice for beading projects. Their popularity was due to a greater color selection, and much greater uniformity in size and shape from that of the earlier Italian seed beads. This craft started as a cottage industry with the forest glass makers, becoming more important as Czech glass seed beads became more popular as worldwide trade item, and today the art of crafting Czech glass seed beads is done in a factory.

Today the Czech Republic is in the forefront of the world bead market and Czech glass seed beads have been the best selling and most affordable with the broadest range of color, size and finish for over 50 years. Czech glass seed beads exhibit superior quality, outstanding uniformity, and exceptional breadth of assortment, making them the perfect choice for any beading project!

The most common shape for the Czech glass seed bead is like that of a donut, while the fire polished beads are generally round in shape. Fire polished beads are available in other shapes, too: bicone, rondelle, roller, roundlet, pear and parachute. Czech glass seed beads come in a variety of colors and this richness of color is one of the well known trademarks of Czech glass seed beads.

Crazy Crow Trading Post is one of the largest suppliers of Czech (and French) glass seed beads in the market today. They carry strung Czech glass seed beads rather than loose as they are better quality, more uniform in size and easier to use, with fewer culls. Crazy Crow Trading Post has a wide variety of opaque and transparent colored Czech glass seed beads to choose from which makes planning for your next beading project easier.

Making of Czech Glass Seed Beads

Early Development of Czech Glass Industry

Early Glass Bead Manufacturing in Europe

In the 1550s a major glass industry was founded in the cities of Jablonec, Stanovsko, and Bedrichov (modern Reichenberg) in Bohemia (in the current Czech Republic). Glassmakers there were mostly cottage crafters making products for larger centralized factories. This region became the center of this industry because it provided the material and manpower needed for it to thrive.

First, nearby mountains contained quartz deposits that were easily mined. Second, Bohemia had an abundance of cheap skilled labor. Third, and most important, the forests provided an abundant source for wood to heat the large furnaces required to melt glass. The forests also provided an essential by-product that was needed, potash, which resulted from burning wood in the furnaces. Importing this potash, an important ingredient in glass making, would have been very expensive. It takes between 15,000 and 40,000 pounds of wood to create the potash to make 50 pounds of Czech glass. The wood burned in the furnaces created the ash that was later collected to make all the potash that was needed. These Bohemian factories turned out mainly glassware and cut glass stones. Beads were a secondary product.

Important Bead Manufacturing Technology Advances of 1860

The original seed beads were made in Italy from round tubes producing round seed beads. For years the Italians held the monopoly on the process. The Czechs entered the marketplace in the late 18th century.

From earliest times there have been many ways of forming glass beads. The earliest was to wind molten glass around a form and allow it to set and cool, creating round beads. The glass can also be blown into a form or mold, creating hollow shapes in the beads which are lighter than wound ones. A third method is to create blown glass beads without a mold. Beads made in this way are the lightest and most delicate. All these methods have been known for thousands of years, but it was not until 1860 that the first pressed glass molds were developed in Bohemia, producing a product that is more durable and robust than earlier methods.

Some claim that the production of drawn beads in the early 18th century was the most important development in the history of beads. It was the first time that beads did not have to be individually hand made. Instead, beads could simply be cut en masse from tubes of drawn glass. Mass production had arrived in bead making. In the 1860s several new processes and machines were developed which enabled bead makers to achieve uniformity of colors and sizes in seed beads. But perhaps the biggest boon to seed beads came in the early 20th century when a machine was made to automatically draw glass tubes.

‘Pressing’ was a completely new process. A dollop of glass was taken up and placed in a pair of mold tongs, after it was formed it would be pierced by an iron rod. The bead was then drawn off the rod and allowed to cool slowly. This method left a wide seam around the circumference of the bead, which would be ground away after the bead cooled.

Later this process became automated by hydraulic bead presses which could turn out thousands of identical beads quickly. The presses used a combination of high pressure and heat caused by that pressure to convert powdered glass into glass beads. After the beads were formed they were pierced using high speed drills to create uniform holes. Pressed glass beads are denser than other types and the fact that the beads are pierced after they are formed means that offset or multiple holes are possible. The creative possibilities are endless.

“Skunk Beads“, are a product of 18th Century Venetian manufacturing. Created using the wound, or drawn glass production method; Skunk Beads represent one of the earliest forms of “lampwork”, a process which involves the addition of small glass globules to a set surface, giving the 3-D raised effect.

Historic Timeline of Glass Beads

Roman Times: People were making glass beads in Bohemia, in the present-day Czech Republic, as early as 250 B.C. In the 900s (A.D.), handmade beads were placed in graves.

Middle Ages: During the 13th century, people began moving into the area’s northern mountains and opened several glass factories. Resources such as laborers, water and wood for furnaces helped supply the factories.

Years 1500-1800: A cottage industry began in the Bohemian cities of Jablonec, Stanovsko and Bedrichov in the 1500s. These glassmakers made beads for larger jewelry factories.

Mid-1800s: Czech “sample men” traveled the world, taking notes and sketches of the various kinds of beads people wanted. Back home, the factories made these new designs, which sold well and in turn increased the demand for beads.

Late 1800s: Technological advances, like multi-bead molds and machines to handle some of this work, made Bohemia a center for pressed-glass beads.

1920s: Czechs became leading bead exporters in the world.

The Czech bead industry has had its ups and downs since, due to economic conditions, wars, and politics, but Czech glass beads remain one of the most important elements in the jewelry-maker’s tool kit.

Today: Czech bead-making suffered setbacks because of two world wars, the Great Depression and Communist rule. Anyone trying to buy cut seed beads while it was a communist country know that the difference between then and now as to the availability of colors. If you were lucky in those days, there might be five colors available in a year, and one was always black.

This shoulder bag is a fine example of classic Delaware beadwork in stylized floral patterns and dates from the 1840 period. It is beaded in the overlay technique in pony trader blue, Cheyenne pink, navy blue, white and transparent red and green Italian seed beads. Constructed on broadcloth, it is bound with a red wool edging and trimmed with tin cone and red yarn tassels. Private Collection

Since the fall of communism, the industry has been revived, driven by demand rather than central planning, and Czech bead makers are again among the world leaders in bead manufacturing and exports.

Popularity of Seed Beads

Seed beads were immediately popular. They were used as decoration on clothes and other items. In many cases, the seed beads allowed people to enhance their outfits much more elaborately than had previously been possible. North American Indians used the seed beads acquired through trade to embellish clothing and many articles of everyday and ceremonial life. Until their introduction, these Native American tribes had mainly used shells and dyed porcupine quills for adornment.

Typical Native American Tribal Bead Color Preferences

The use of colors by Indian beadworkers varies widely among the many different tribes throughout the U.S. & Canada. These are general guidelines for some of the better known beadworking tribes. Many exceptions to this can be found, but this provides a basis for staying within the traditions for these tribes. One should also be aware that many variations of hues existed within given shades of colors, and these varied from factory to factory as well as in different lots from the same factory.

See color chart by tribe and article on Native American Tribal Color Preference.

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Metal Spots for Leather & Craft Decoration now on sale at Crazy Crow Trading Post. These nickel and brass metal spots are great replacements for tacks and often easier to use. Perfect for decorating leather belts, war clubs, pipe stems, etc.

Four Native American inspired design blankets from Crazy Crow. Made of snuggly super soft and super inexpensive, these fleece blankets are sure to please anyone that enjoys Native American designs used with Southwest decor. Perfect for giveaways or just to decorate your house. Each blanket measures 60″ x 80″.

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Recently, I tried my hand at making my first buffalo horn cup. I say “recently”, although I first started roughing out this horn at Buffalo Days in the summer of 2003. Nevertheless, I finally decided to finish it so that I’d have one less pending project on the “back burner”! (Anybody else have this problem?)

When I say “horn cup”, I am, of course, talking about an Indian-style vessel, one which keeps the basic shape of the horn, as opposed to any kind of a white-man style mug, coffee cup, or goblet. In working on this project, I consulted with my friend Ken Smith, who is an expert Indian-style and mountain man craftsman. After finishing this horn, I discussed it with Iron Wood so as to get additional pointers on how I might add to my technique for my next horn. Both of these men make excellent horns. Thus, the following construction discussion includes insights from both Ken Smith and Iron Wood, as well as the benefits from my own experience as a rank beginner.

I’ll start at the point where I have the raw horn cap ready after removing the bone core from it. Often, the mouth of a horn will have a lot of ridge rings and rough spots on the first inch or so. It is best to remove as much of this as possible by simply cutting off the front of the horn. Some folks use a hack saw, others a coping saw or band saw.

However, when roughing out the mouth of the cup, you’ll probably want to leave on some kind of tab extension to attach a thong to for hanging. This can be a triangular-shaped tab to tie to or a rounded or square tab that you’ll drill a hole through for the thong. Note that this tab needs to be on the side of the mouth that’s toward the inside curve of the horn and not the outside. This will allow the horn to be suspended with the mouth horizontal to the ground.

Using the belt sander makes it easier to square up the mouth of the horn (or you can do it all with the rasp). If you use the sander, finish the mouth off with a rasp so that the lip cleanly meets the tab.

The next step is to clean up the rough exterior of the horn. It is agreed that the best tool for most of the work is a 4-in-1 rasp. Ken recommends first heating the horn in boiling water for no more than 10 minutes. He states that this will soften up the horn so that it is easy to quickly remove a good deal of material: NOTE: Heat is the worst enemy of a horn, whether you’re making a ladle, cup, or powder horn, so it is best to minimize any heating: better too little than too much. Otherwise, the layers of the horn will bubble up and start to separate like an old radial tire.

Both Ken and Iron Wood work the horn by holding it in their hands, that is, they don’t try to clamp it in a vice, etc. I have read an article in one of the muzzleloading magazines by a powder horn maker which described his fashioning a piece of wood into the shape of the horn core; this he clamps in his vice, then places the horn cap on it to work. This might be handy if you’re going to make a lot of cups or powder horns, although the work goes smoothly by simply holding it.

I did not heat my horn, but, rather, worked it dry, using a combination of the course, rounded part of the hand-rasp, as well as careful use of a table-top belt sander. As you work the horn, you will find a number of uneven spots, as the horn really does not have the nice curved surface that it appeared to have at first glance. I took my time, frequently feeling inside and outside of the horn between my fingers to make sure I wasn’t getting it too thin.

Incidentally, Ken mostly uses the rasp, but occasionally includes the belt sander. His sander is the hand-held type, which he mounts upside down and somewhat at an angle in a large bench vise.

After removing the bumps and ridges with the course, rounded side of the rasp, smooth the surface down with the rasp’s fine teeth. Next, it’s time for polishing. For this, you’ll use a sharp knife, piece of glass, flint, etc. Place the blade perpendicular to the length of the horn and carefully scrape the entire length. I found that, by holding the mouth against my stomach, the blade often chattered and left marks as I brought it to the mouth. I eliminated this by placing the horn on my work bench, holding it by the tip, and scraping away from me. Taking my time with scraping instead of making fast strokes actually helped me do a faster, cleaner job. Make all the scrapes in one direction, whether you scrape from tip to mouth or vice versa.

Once the surface is smooth, you can leave it this way or do more polishing. For more, you can use 320-grit sandpaper or steel wool; I chose the latter, which gave the surface a fairly shiny polish.

At this point, I chose to round the mouth of the cup. In its natural state, the mouth of the horn will usually be an uneven, oval shape; some horns are worse than others. In order to round it, I had to heat the horn. Iron Wood pointed out that buffalo horns are often much harder to heat and shape than cow horns, so he advises heating the front 2″-3″ of the horn in mineral oil, rather than water. Ken had suggested heating in water for no more than 10 minutes, which is what I did. Immediately after heating, I forced the mouth of the horn over a small metal can. You can use anything that’s round and not affected by heat, such as a glass jar, can, etc. After I had forced the horn onto the can, I put it aside to cool for a couple of hours.

After cooling, I removed the can and hit the horn again with steel wool, just to make sure I had a clean surface. The last step was to oil the horn. Ken uses rendered buffalo grease. Iron Wood suggests, in order to avoid the possibility of the grease going rancid, to use mineral oil. Rub the horn with the grease to get it all warm so that the grease/oil will absorb better. Before oiling, I hit the horn with a hair dryer at high setting, both inside and out, until the horn was quite warm. I had no trouble then with the horn absorbing the grease.

I then attached the thong to the mouth tab, added some beads, and had a finished horn.

Note: The horn I used was from an older bull, and it had a lot of big, longitudinal ridges on the inside. In order to clean these up, I used a Dremel tool, the rasp, and a crooked knife – all of which helped remove the large amount of material that constituted the ridges. I didn’t polish the inside but left it fairly smooth after finishing off with the fine teeth of the rasp.

Throughout this project, I wore heavy leather gloves whenever possible. This helped me avoid cutting myself as well as making the horn more comfortable to hold when I heated it to shape the mouth.

Making the horn cup was a lot of fun and only took a few hours (especially because I used the belt sander). I would really appreciate hearing from others who also have done horn work so that I might learn more about this fine art.

NOTE TO TRADITIONALISTS:

If you eschew the modern tools, such as rasp and belt sander, you can make your horn the old way. Get yourself a horn, some flint, and put in for a week of vacation time at your day-job. (What am I saying? REAL Traditionalists wouldn’t have a day job!)

HORN UTENSILS – Related Products

The following items are used in the above-article, or may provide added reference and helpful information.

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