Product Description

Antique Rainbow Beads 7

Style: Java, Indonesia
Order Number: MHSBD7

Java has many megalithic stone graves with large amounts of beads, some monochrome and some polychrome with various designs and great artistic value, including mutisalah and eye, sunbursts, stripes and mosaic beads. Dealers called them Majapahit beads, looking for a popular label, but they  were never found in Majapahit sites from 1300 AD to 1500 AD, and are much older, probably earlier than 900 AD, and could have been 300 AD.

The mosaic beads are also called rainbow (pelangi) beads and are very beautiful. They tend to have 2 or 4 colour combinations, usually blue and white or blue, white, red and yellow, although the blue in the 4 colours may be changed to dark green, dark blue or brown. They tend to be between 2 and 3.5 cm long.

Eyes, sunbursts and stripes can be all in one bead. They come in combinations of 2, 3 and 4 colours: blue, yellow, white, red, green and very dark green. The most common are blackish green and white and in green and yellow. The largest, about 5 cm long, are green and yellow. Some large beads have white flowers around the opening. In Indonesia eye beads seem to be restricted to East Java and could have been trade items.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).