Featured Yellow Melon Beads

Okay, what the heck, I'll post these too. Same Indonesian trip to Kalimantan. I've been told these are melon beads from China, Qing dynasty, correct me if I'm wrong. They were purchased in Samarinda, a coastal town, in a shop that had an amazing amount of Dayak art and Chinese ceramics, which I couldn't fathom until I was told the porcelain was from shipwrecks. The beads were on two strands, the larger ones and the smaller, brighter looking ones. So... anyone know if these are indeed Qing era beads? Any info would be appreciated. Wish I could travel back in time, I would have bought a few plates too. At the time, my backpack was pretty full.

 

Yes, I would say Chinese beads, Qing dynasty.
In the Sino-Indonesian trade, these were mainly exported to Java and often used for trade between Java and the more tribal islands. Remember, the Spice Route, a sea route stretching from the Moluccas to the Straits, and branching out to both China and India and the Middle East (and on to Europe) was just as important as the Silk Road. Kalimantan may not have been directly on the Spice Route, but still benefited from the international trade in the region.
These are not exactly the same as yours, but similar:

https://beadsofparadisenyc.com/coll...sian-carved-trade-glass?variant=5073505910821

Majapahit is often used as the cover-all Indonesian term for antique.

 

Thanks. One site mentioned that they were popular in Irian Jaya.

 

Who can blame them. Probably also acquired through inter-island trade.

 

nice beads....

 

becareful if you want to buy the plates,i notice some antique plates here are just poor reproduction,

 

I'm sure they are reproductions if that shop is still open. Probably everything is fake. But I went almost 30 years ago. I don't remember anything being expensive. I think the beads were $10 or so. The only expensive items I bought on the entire adventure were two very old ikat weavings in Maluku.

 

30 years ago and go travel where google maps didn't exist,thats cool!

 

You don't know the half of it. I know people now who live in Kalimantan. The Apo Kayan area I visited then (which was wild jungle, people living in ling houses, so amazing) - is now gone, covered with palm oil plantations. It doesn't exist anymore.

 

(sigh) OTOH, you got tourist souvenirs when the tourist souvenir getting was good.

 

yes,so sad,its common problem here

 

We actually read books in those days.
Us oldies still do. I still have boxes full of old maps, books, dissertations and even magazine clippings about places, art, and cultures that interest me.

 

i can't imagine back to those days,maybe the half of the backpack will be the map books and guides! when was your last time in indonesia aj?

 

1972, I think. Too long ago.

 

I've made it a point not to revisit places in Indonesia that I saw in 91. Too depressing.

 

I am certainly never going back to Bali. It was lovely in 1971, when I was there. Of course there were tourists, but there was just one 'hypermodern' hotel. When I see it on tv now, I'm appalled. But I am sure the Western artists who visited Bali ca 1900 would have been appalled if they had seen it in 1971....

 

& don't forget the bombing.............

 

Let's hope that will never happen again.

 

ahhh...hope......i think i've run out of hope....where humans are concerned..