Beadwork

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Ukrainian bead weaving pysanka Ukrainian bead weaving pysanka.jpg
Ukrainian bead weaving pysanka

Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread or thin wire with a sewing or beading needle or sewing them to cloth. [1] Beads are produced in a diverse range of materials, shapes, and sizes, and vary by the kind of art produced. Most often, beadwork is a form of personal adornment (e.g. jewelry), but it also commonly makes up other artworks.

Contents

Beadwork in progress on a bead weaving loom. Black, orange and transparent seed beads are being used to make a bracelet. Bracelet in progress on a bead weaving loom 25Jan2011 arp.jpg
Beadwork in progress on a bead weaving loom. Black, orange and transparent seed beads are being used to make a bracelet.

Beadwork techniques are broadly divided into several categories, including loom and off-loom weaving, stringing, bead embroidery, bead crochet, bead knitting, and bead tatting. [2]

Ancient beading

A string of blue faience beads from north Lisht, a village in the Memphite region of Egypt, c. 1802-1450 B.C. String of blue faience ball and cylinder beads MET 22.1.1280.jpg
A string of blue faience beads from north Lisht, a village in the Memphite region of Egypt, c. 1802–1450 B.C.

The art of creating and utilizing beads is ancient, and ostrich shell beads discovered in Africa can be carbon-dated to 10,000 BC. [3] [4] Faience beads, a type of ceramic created by mixing powdered clays, lime, soda, and silica sand with water until a paste forms, then molding it around a stick or straw and firing until hard, were notably used in ancient Egyptian jewelry from the First Dynasty (beginning in the early Bronze Age) onward. [5] [6] Faience and other ceramic beads with vitrified quartz coatings predate pure glass beads. [7]

Beads and work created with them were found near-ubiquitously across the ancient world, often made of locally available materials. For example, the Athabaskan peoples of Alaska used tusk shells (scaphopod mollusks), which are naturally hollow, as beads and incorporated them into elaborate jewelry. [8]

Beadwork has historically been used for religious purposes, as good luck talismans, for barter and trade, and for ritual exchange. [4]

King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza with allegories of the four continents MET DP151884.jpg
King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza with allegories of the four continents MET DP151881.jpg
King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza with allegories of the four continents, a elaborate beadwork basket project [9]

Modern beading

Today, beadwork is commonly practiced by jewelers, hobbyists, and contemporary artists; artists known for using beadwork as a medium include Liza Lou, Ran Hwang, Hew Locke, Jeffery Gibson, and Joyce J. Scott. [10]

Some ancient stitches have become especially popular among contemporary artists. The off-loom peyote stitch, for example, is used in Native American Church members' beadwork. [11]

Jewelry made of beads was widespread and fashionable in Western Ukraine, which was connected with the familiarity of Ukrainian artists with the artistic achievements of the countries of Western Europe, where from the 18th century. There was a fashion for artistic products made of beads. Modern ukrainian beadwork includes: beaded clothing, collars, bracelets, necklaces, necklaces-gerdanes, clothing accessories, and household items such as pysanka. [12]

Women's necklace-gerdan, made in the technique of bead weaving Women`s gerdan.jpg
Women's necklace-gerdan, made in the technique of bead weaving

European beadwork

Modern beaded flowers, yellow made in the French beading technique and pink in the Victorian beading technique. Beaded roses.jpg
Modern beaded flowers, yellow made in the French beading technique and pink in the Victorian beading technique.
Russian Countess Olga Orlova-Davydova wearing a heavily beaded kokoshnik at the Masquerade Costume Ball of 1903 1903 ball - Princess Olga K. Orlova (nee princess Beloselsky-Belozwersky).jpg
Russian Countess Olga Orlova-Davydova wearing a heavily beaded kokoshnik at the Masquerade Costume Ball of 1903

Beadwork in Europe, much like in Egypt and the Americas, can be traced to the use of bone and shell as adornments amongst early modern humans. [3] As glassmaking increased in popularity through the Middle Ages, glass beads began to appear extensively in bead embroidery, beaded necklaces, and similar wares. [13]

By 1291, artists in Murano, Italy had begun production of intricate glass Murano beads inspired by Venetian glassware. With the advent of lampwork glass, Europeans started producing seed beads for embroidery, crochet, and other, mostly off-loom techniques. [7] Czech seed beads are among the most popular contemporary bead styles.

One technique of European beadwork is beaded "immortal" flowers. The technique's origins, though indistinct, are generally agreed to range at least several centuries back, as far back as at least the 16th if not 14th century. [14] [15] Two mayor styles were developed: French beading, in which the wire only goes through each bead once and the wires are arranged vertically, and Victorian (also called English or Russian) beading, in which the wires go through each bead twice and are arranged horizontally. [14] In the late 19th and early 20th century, the beaded flowers were used to create long lasting funeral wreaths, called immortelles (French for "immortals"). [15] In the mid-20th century, the art was introduced to United States with sales of flower beading kits. In 1960s to 1970s, books by emerging beaded flower designers emerged. [14] [15] In the 1990s and 2000s, there was another revival of interest in the craft, exemplified for example by the funeral wreaths made to commemorate September 11 attacks victims. [14] Beadwork is a central component of the traditional dress of many European peoples.

Ukrainian masters develop exclusively national motifs in their bead collections. Beaded artworks include clothing ensembles, clothing accessories, priestly clothing decorations, and household items. At the beginning of the 20th century embroidery workshops were created on the territory of Galicia and Bukovyna, where, along with weaving and embroidery, jewelry from beads was made. Contemporary beadwork includes: beaded clothing, collars, bracelets, necklaces, clothing accessories like handbags and purses. [16] [17] [18] [19]

In Northern Russia, for example, the Kokoshnik headdress typically includes river pearl netting around the forehead in addition to traditional bead embroidery. [20]

Native American beadwork

Examples of contemporary Native American beadwork Nat Am beadwork sampler.jpg
Examples of contemporary Native American beadwork

Native American beadwork, already established via the use of materials like shells, dendrite, claws, and bone, evolved to incorporate glass beads as Europeans brought them to the Americas beginning in the early 17th century. [21] [22]

Native beadwork today heavily utilizes small glass beads, but artists also continue to use traditionally important materials. Wampum shells, for instance, are ceremonially and politically important to a range of Eastern Woodlands tribes, and are used to depict important events. [23]

Several Native American artists from a wide range of nations are considered to be at the forefront of modern American bead working. These artists include Teri Greeves (Kiowa, known for beaded commentaries on Native voting rights), [24] Marcus Amerman (Choctaw, known for realistic beaded portraits of historical figures and celebrities), [25] and Jamie Okuma (Luiseño-Shoshone-Bannock, known for beaded dolls). [26]

Great Lakes tribes

Ursuline nuns in the Great Lakes introduced floral patterns to young Indigenous women, who quickly applied them to beadwork. [27] Ojibwe women in the area created ornately decorated shoulder bags known as gashkibidaagan (bandolier bags). [28]

Eastern Woodlands tribes

Innu, Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, and Haudenosaunee peoples developed, and are known for, beading symmetrical scroll motifs, most often in white beads. [29] Tribes of the Iroqouis Confederacy practice raised beading, where threads are pulled taut to force beads into a bas-relief, which creates a three-dimensional effect. [30] [31]

Southeastern tribes

Southeastern tribes pioneered a beadwork style that features images with white outlines, a visual reference to the shells and pearls coastal Southeasterners used pre-contact. [32] This style was nearly lost during the Trail of Tears, as many beadworkers died during their forced removal to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Roger Amerman (Choctaw, brother of Marcus Amerman) and Martha Berry (Cherokee) have effectively revived the style, however. [32]

Sierra Madre tribes

Huichol communities in the Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit uniquely attach their beads to objects and surfaces via the use of a resin-beeswax mixture (in lieu of wire or waxed thread). [33]

Métis Nation

Métis were known as the Flower Beadwork People by the Cree and Dene because of their culture of colourful floral beadwork and embroidery. [34] During the early 19th century, European and Euro-North American observers and travelers frequently noted the intricate beadwork adorning Métis clothing. This beadwork, particularly floral patterns, has evolved into one of the most recognizable symbols of Métis culture. Métis artisans employed First Nations beadwork techniques along with floral designs influenced by French-Canadian nuns in Roman Catholic missions. By the 1830s, vibrant and lifelike floral motifs dominated Métis creations from the Red River region. Beadwork adorned nearly every traditional Métis garment, from moccasins to coats, belts to bags. [35] The practice of beadwork became a vital economic activity for Métis women and families, spanning generations and providing both personal and commercial expression. Métis organizations like the Louis Riel Institute and the Gabriel Dumont Institute actively promote and preserve traditional beading through workshops and resources, ensuring its continuation within the community.

African beadwork

An elephant mask decorated with glass beads by the Bamileke people in Bandjoun, Cameroon c. 1910-1930 Elephant Mask from Cameroon Bamileke people Village of Banjoun 1910-1930 Palm Leaf Fiber, cotton textile glass beads Dallas Museum of Art.jpg
An elephant mask decorated with glass beads by the Bamileke people in Bandjoun, Cameroon c. 1910–1930

Several African nations outside of Egypt have beadwork traditions. Aggry (also spelled aggri or aggrey) beads, a type of decorated glass bead, are used by Ghanaians and other West Africans to make necklaces and bracelets that may be traded for other goods. [36] These beads are often believed to have magical medicinal of fertility powers. In Mauritania, powder-glass Kiffa beads represent a beading tradition that may date as far back as 1200 CE; a group of women have been revitalizing the craft after the last traditional Kiffa artisans died in the 1970s. [37] Cameroonian women are known for crafting wooden sculptures covered in beadwork. [38]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bead</span> Small decorative object with central hole

A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 millimetre (0.039 in) to over 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewellery</span> Form of personal adornment

Jewellery consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal such as gold often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as glass, shells and other plant materials may be used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peyote stitch</span>

The peyote stitch, also known as the gourd stitch, is an off-loom bead weaving technique. Peyote stitch may be worked with either an even or an odd number of beads per row. Both even and odd count peyote pieces can be woven as flat strips, in a flat round shape, or as a tube. Tubular peyote is used to make pouches or to decorate objects such as bottles or fan handles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hair drop</span>

A hair drop is an ornament worn by men from Great Lakes and Plains tribes. It would be tied to the man's hair. The typical example consists of a quilled or beaded section on a strip of leather, which was later attached to an American buffalo tail. They could be over two feet long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peranakan beaded slippers</span> Peranakan traditional beadwork

Peranakan beaded slippers, also known as Kasut Manik, literally meaning "beaded shoes", is a type of shoe that dates back to the early twentieth century Malaya. It refers to beaded slippers worn by a nyonya to complete her Sarong Kebaya outfit, together with chained brooches (kerosang) and a silver belt. The slippers are made of Peranakan cut beads, which are treasured as these beads are no longer available. Vintage Kasut Maniks are intricate and finely stitched, a testimony to the fine workmanship of yesteryears. The intricacy and fine workmanship of a pair of the beaded slipper is also a hallmark of highly accomplished Peranakan women, also known as Nyonya, whose skills in embroidery and beadwork are highly valued.

The word dentalium, as commonly used by Native American artists and anthropologists, refers to tooth shells or tusk shells used in indigenous jewelry, adornment, and commerce in western Canada and the United States. These tusk shells are a kind of seashell, specifically the shells of scaphopod mollusks. The name "dentalium" is based on the scientific name for the genus Dentalium, but because the taxonomy has changed over time, not all of the species used are still placed in that genus; however, all of the species are certainly in the family Dentaliidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walco Bead Co.</span> Bead company

Walco Bead Co. was one of the largest bead companies in the United States of America, Africa, China, and Canada at the start of the 1900s. It was a landmark in New York's "bead alley" at 37 West 37th Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visual arts of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas</span>

The visual arts of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which includes Central America and Greenland. The Siberian Yupiit, who have great cultural overlap with Native Alaskan Yupiit, are also included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty</span> Native American Assiniboine Sioux bead worker and porcupine quill worker

Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty is a Native American, Assiniboine Sioux bead worker and porcupine quill worker. She creates traditional Northern Plains regalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ribbon work</span> Indigenous North American appliqué technique

Ribbon work is an appliqué technique for clothing and dance regalia among Prairie and Great Lakes indigenous peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Amerman</span>

Marcus Amerman is a Choctaw bead artist, glass artist, painter, fashion designer, and performance artist, living in Idaho. He is known for his highly realistic beadwork portraits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bead embroidery</span>

Bead embroidery is a type of beadwork that uses a needle and thread to stitch beads to a surface of fabric, suede, or leather.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plains hide painting</span> Artistic practice of Plains Indians

Plains hide painting is a traditional North American Plains Indian artistic practice of painting on either tanned or raw animal hides. Tipis, tipi liners, shields, parfleches, robes, clothing, drums, and winter counts could all be painted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native American jewelry</span> Overview of the cultural diversity and history of jewelry that originated in Native American tribes

Native American jewelry refers to items of personal adornment, whether for personal use, sale or as art; examples of which include necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings and pins, as well as ketohs, wampum, and labrets, made by one of the Indigenous peoples of the United States. Native American jewelry normally reflects the cultural diversity and history of its makers, but tribal groups have often borrowed and copied designs and methods from other, neighboring tribes or nations with which they had trade, and this practice continues today. Native American tribes continue to develop distinct aesthetics rooted in their personal artistic visions and cultural traditions. Artists may create jewelry for adornment, ceremonies, and display, or for sale or trade. Lois Sherr Dubin writes, "[i]n the absence of written languages, adornment became an important element of Indian communication, conveying many levels of information." Later, jewelry and personal adornment "...signaled resistance to assimilation. It remains a major statement of tribal and individual identity."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell gorget</span>

Shell gorgets are a Native American art form of polished, carved shell pendants worn around the neck. The gorgets are frequently engraved, and are sometimes highlighted with pigments, or fenestrated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Waheneka</span> Native American beadwork artist

Emily Waheneka (1919-2008) was a Native American artist, of Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute tribal heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Larson Bread</span> Native American beadwork artist

Jackie Larson Bread is a Native American beadwork artist from the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana. Her interest in bead work was sparked from looking at her late-grandmother's beaded pieces. In awe of these objects, Bread self-taught herself how to bead when she was younger and now, she has been beading for more than 20 years. Continuing through trial and error, Bread has received numerous awards for her beading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bali-og</span> Traditional layered necklaces of various ethnic groups

Bali-og, also spelled baliog, are traditional layered necklaces of various ethnic groups in the islands of Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines. They consist of chokers and necklaces with a fringe of beads and other ornaments. More than one is usually worn, layered over each other. Their elements usually consist of metal or glass beads, hollowed seeds, seashells, mother-of-pearl, and copper or brass ornaments.

Katrina Mitten is a Native American artist. She is enrolled in the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Métis Art</span>

Métis Art refers to artwork that is produced by the Métis people. The identification of these works is usually done through certain styles and mediums—examples include creating intricate visual pieces using beads, working with leather and animal hide, and the creation of traditional sashes—but it can also be attributed simply as works done by one who identifies as Métis. The creation of these forms of art began as a combination of motifs and cultural symbols from both Indigenous and European cultures, and still carries through in Métis art made to this day. Métis artwork generally has themes of identity exploration and fluidity, the importance and power of familial connection, and contemporary issues among the people.

References

  1. ↑ "Beadwork". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Libin, Nina (1998). Tatted Lace of Beads, the Techniques of BEANILE LACE. Berkeley, CA: LACIS. p. 112. ISBN   0-916896-93-5.
  3. 1 2 Dubin, Lois Sherr (2009). The History of Beads: From 100,000 B.C. to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 16. ISBN   978-0810951747.
  4. 1 2 Sciama, Lidia D.; Eicher, Joanne B. (1998). Beads and Bead Makers: Gender, Material Culture and Meaning (Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women). Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 1–3. ISBN   978-1859739952.
  5. ↑ Dee, Michael; Wengrow, David; Shortland, Andrew; Stevenson, Alice; Brock, Fiona; Girdland Flink, Linus; Bronk Ramsey, Christopher (8 November 2013). "An absolute chronology for early Egypt using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian statistical modelling". Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 469 (2159): 20130395. Bibcode:2013RSPSA.46930395D. doi:10.1098/rspa.2013.0395. ISSN   1364-5021. PMC   3780825 . PMID   24204188.
  6. ↑ Peck, William (2013). The Material World of Ancient Egypt. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1107276383.
  7. 1 2 Dubin, Lois Sherr (2010). The Worldwide History of Beads: Ancient, Ethnic, Contemporary. Thames & Hudson. ISBN   9780500515006.
  8. ↑ Dubin, Lois Sherr (2009). The History of Beads: From 100,000 B.C. to the Present. New York: Abrams. p. 463. ISBN   978-0810951747.
  9. ↑ "King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza with allegories of the four continents | British".
  10. ↑ Gittlen, Ariela (16 February 2018). "6 Artists Turning Beads into Spellbinding Works of Art". Artsy. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  11. ↑ Steele, Meredith (23 May 2019). "Peyote Stitch: A Brief History". Interweave. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Українські народні прикраси з бісеру". Музей Івана Гончара. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  13. ↑ Keller, Daniel; Price, Jennifer; Jackson, Caroline (2014). Neighbours and Successors of Rome: Traditions of Glass Production and use in Europe and the Middle East in the Later 1st Millennium AD. Oxbow Books. pp. 1–41. ISBN   978-1-78297-398-0.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Kurtz, Rosemary (16 February 2008). "French Bead Flower Making - A Vintage Craft Is New Again".
  15. 1 2 3 Harpster, Lauren (31 August 2018). "What is French Beading?". Bead & Blossom. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Nykonenko, Dmytro; Yatsuk, Oleh; Guidorzi, Laura; Lo Giudice, Alessandro; Tansella, Francesca; Cesareo, Ludovica Pia; Sorrentino, Giusi; Davit, Patrizia; Gulmini, Monica; Re, Alessandro (13 November 2023). "Glass beads from a Scythian grave on the island of Khortytsia (Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine): insights into bead making through 3D imaging". Heritage Science. 11 (1): 238. doi: 10.1186/s40494-023-01078-0 . ISSN   2050-7445.
  17. ↑ unesdoc.unesco.org https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000050736 . Retrieved 10 March 2024.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ "Introduction to Ukrainian Beadwork - Sylianky - Workshop". Ukrainian Cultural Association of Ohio Inc. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  19. ↑ "Ukrainian necklaces | Ukrainian recipes". 25 November 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  20. ↑ "Headdress of Natalia de Shabelsky". Met Museum. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017.
  21. ↑ "Native American Art- Cherokee Beadwork and Basketry". nativeamerican-art.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  22. ↑ Cherokee, Eastern Band of. "Cherokee Indian Beadwork and Beading Patterns | Cherokee, NC". Cherokee, NC. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  23. ↑ Dubin, pp. 170–171
  24. ↑ Lopez, Antonio (August 2000). "Focus on Native Artists | Teri Greeves". Southwest Art Magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  25. ↑ Berlo and Phillips, p. 32
  26. ↑ Indyke, Dottie (May 2001). "Native Arts | Jamie Okuma". Southwest Art Magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  27. ↑ Dubin, p. 50
  28. ↑ Dubin, p. 218
  29. ↑ Berlo and Phillips, p. 146
  30. ↑ Hoffman, Karen Ann (December 2018). "Wisconsin Life, Iroquois Beadwork". Wisconsin First Nations. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021.
  31. ↑ Berlo and Philips, p. 151
  32. 1 2 Berlo and Phillips, p. 87
  33. ↑ Hillman, Paul. "The Huichol Web of Life: Creation and Prayer | Lesson Two: Jicaras, Kukus and Seeds". Community Arts Resource Exchange. The Bead Museum. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  34. ↑ "Material Culture". Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  35. ↑ "Beadwork". Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture. The Gabriel Dumont Institute. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  36. ↑ Quiggin, A. Hingston (1949). A Survey of Primitive Money. London: Methuen & Co Ltd. pp. 36–44.
  37. ↑ Simak, E. "Mauritanian Powder-Glass Kiffa Beads". Ornament. 5 (29): 60–63.
  38. ↑ LaDuke, Betty. (1997). Africa : women's art, women's lives. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. pp. 63–84. ISBN   0-86543-434-4. OCLC   35521674.
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