Front cover image for Asia's maritime bead trade : 300 B.C. to the present

Asia's maritime bead trade : 300 B.C. to the present

"This study is the first detailed description of the ancient and enduring trade in beads that spans more than two millennia and once stretched from the Middle East to East Asia and affected areas as far apart as West Africa and the American Pacific coast. Beads are universal and among the earliest art forms. Made of glass, semiprecious stone, or precious organic materials such as amber and coral, they were ubiquitous in the ancient world, serving as decorations, magical charms, mnemonic and counting devices, and symbols of wealth and status. Much of the ancient bead trade was incorporated in Asian maritime commerce, and many of the beads involved have Asian origins."--Jacket
Print Book, English, ©2002
University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, ©2002
xi, 305 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm
9780824823320, 082482332X
46366307
Prefacevii
Acknowledgmentsix
Part One: Introduction1(16)
The Scope of This Work
3(7)
Beads, Bead Materials, and Beadmaking
10(7)
Part Two: Indo-Pacific Beads17(34)
Introduction to Indo-Pacific Beads
19(8)
Indo-Pacific Beadmaking Centers
27(15)
Indo-Pacific Bead By-Products and the Distribution of the Beads
42(9)
Part Three: Chinese Glass Beads51(34)
Glassmaking and Glass Beadmaking in China
53(10)
Export of Chinese Beads
63(9)
Chinese Beads in the Asian Maritime Trade
72(13)
Part Four: Beads from the Middle East85(16)
Middle Eastern Glass Beads
87(9)
Middle Eastern Beadmaking Techniques in Southeast Asia
96(5)
Part Five: Stone Beads in the Asian Maritime Trade101(26)
The Western Indian Stone Bead Industry
103(9)
South Indian Stone Beadmaking
112(15)
Part Six: Some Minor Bead Industries127(38)
Glass Beadmaking in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka
129(12)
Minor Stone Bead Industries in the Asian Maritime Trade
141(10)
Organically Derived Gem Materials
151(14)
Part Seven: Drawing to a Close165(34)
The End of the Asian Maritime Bead Trade
167(14)
Heirloom Beads in Southeast Asia and Micronesia
181(12)
Conclusions
193(6)
Appendixes199(2)
Appendix A: The Type Collection of Beads in the National Museum of the Philippines201(9)
Appendix B: Analyses of Indo-Pacific Beads210(11)
Notes221(34)
References255(42)
Index297