Featured Unusual glass bead necklace

Tonight, I'm asking about a really weird, damaged mystery necklace that I've had for a while but cannot bring myself to dismantle, dispose of, or even wear it.

It's 16½" long not including the hook (just because I don't really think the hook is the original clasp - could be wrong) Strung on a fine woven foxtail or wheat chain and the metal beads at each end appear to be soldered on.

The spring ring clasp looks to be the style used around the turn of the century (not this past one ... the one before that)

Cannot for the life of me figure out what the little glass "beads" are supposed to be. The ones that aren't damaged/broken look like little sweaters, but I know they probably aren't that. Some sort of flower? A primitive hand maybe?

Also, when I was taking pics of the back of the beads (last two photos), I noticed each had a small blackened area going down their back ... as if the bead was stuck on a metal rod while it was being formed.

What do you see?

Guesses to the age of this?

Where do you think it was made?

Thanks for looking and offering up your thoughts about it.

 

it's funky !!
decent chain to slide glass on........

 

I'm going to say artisan lamp worked glass. Maybe it's not about how the beads look individually but the floral/tutti frutti effect they have when bunched together.

Am I seeing a spring ring being used as the eye of a hook & eye closure? Could be someone who found it hard to manipulate the spring ring made this change. The spring ring looks original to it.

 

Yes, that appears to be what is happening.

I thought the same.

 

when bunched together.

yes.....
with a purposeful color palette ....blue to the outside and toffee & cream in the centre ......it has a flow to it..
it does not look haphazard ......

 

I had some blue beads slightly similar to the round blue ones on yours ones and it was ID’d on here as wound glass beads from Ghana. The rest I have no idea about and I could well be wrong on the blue ones!
It is a bit odd

 

Damaged how? Think if you took that fishhook off it would be back to the way it was made. At most it needs another jump ring soldered on for the spring ring to catch onto.

 

what the little glass "beads" are supposed to be. The ones that aren't damaged/broken look like little sweaters,

they do look like sweaters....but hard to say any are really damaged....
or just born that way .....!

 

Yes, thank you for mentioning that, komo. I've tried to find a pattern to the beads but I suspect some may be missing altogether(broken completely off). I'll take a photo or two later this morning with it laid out straight ... might make any repeating pattern more apparent.

 

Yes!
Thanks for reminding me @KSW
I remember having these beads when you showed yours and was hoping that one of the references in that thread would show something that looked similar to my little sweater beads. Let me search for the one I'm remembering ...
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/scrap-glass-beads.48266/

Is this the thread you were talking about?

Your blue beads do look very similar to the tops of each of my beads. My necklace actually has no round beads but those that look round simply have had their whole "sweater" broken off.

 

Broken/missing beads. I'll take more photos after coffee.

 

Pretty sure many, if not most, are broken in some way ... I'll take better photos to try to show the breakage.

 

The Hoard contains something similar. I wonder where.....

 

Can honestly say I've never seen similar.

I wonder if KSW is on to something like the glass beads are from Ghana. Could they be recycled glass possibly? It's an odd one. Curious what you will find out.

Following this thread!

 

Hm.

 

LOL! After nearly three weeks of a dead computer, it cometh back on to this!? As someone who knows zilch about such things, can you imagine how this thread reads to me? A necklace with "sweaters," no less. It wasn't until Owned's photo that I got it.

You cannot imagine the laws of physics i was trying to overturn!

 

So glad you're back!!

 

When Bear says she has everything in her hoard she really means it! ‘washing line necklace anyone? yep, got one of those’

 

Well, look at that!!!!!
OBB and her hoard of renown comes through again!
You have little sweaters, a scarab, and evil eye beads (at least one looks like an evil eye amulet bead ... the other looks as if it could use some antibiotic)!

Do you know anything about your strand of beads @Ownedbybear ?