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curious little Venetian bead
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Posted by: KFM

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05/01/2015, 13:22:18

I couldn't find any posts relating to Venetian beads that had numbers written on them with stringer work, but I know people were talking about this a year or two ago. I was sorting through beads today and found this one on a strand I believe I bought from Bully several years ago. Can someone enlighten me on what the numbers might mean? I am including pictures of both sides. It looks like they were separated by two yellow horizontal stripes on either side of the numerals. Some of the yellow has popped off. The bead is 13mm long and 10mm wide.

Re: curious little Venetian bead
Re: curious little Venetian bead -- KFM	Post Reply	Edit		Forum	Where am I?

Posted by: KFM

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05/02/2015, 12:45:00

OK, I seem to remember someone saying this had to do with the 1937 Paris Expo? Italy did have a pavilion there, but I haven't been able to find any reference fo Venetian bead souvenirs.

I hope someone can verify this 1937 Paris Expo story.
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Posted by: Dog Bone Crazy

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05/02/2015, 16:16:06

Re: I hope someone can verify this 1937 Paris Expo story.
Re: I hope someone can verify this 1937 Paris Expo story. -- Dog Bone Crazy	Post Reply	Edit		Forum	Where am I?

Posted by: ann

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05/04/2015, 08:09:09

I have one of these, and hope somebody knows something! One is pictured in one of Peter Francis' books, but only as a "mysterious" bead . . .

Re: Re: I hope someone can verify this 1937 Paris Expo story.
Re: Re: I hope someone can verify this 1937 Paris Expo story. -- ann	Post Reply	Edit		Forum	Where am I?

Posted by: KFM

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05/04/2015, 08:50:33

Very cool, Ann! I found the bead in Peter Francis' Beads of the World, pg. 64, and he said that the marks on the other side of it are a crude rendition of 37 in Arabic. Still a mystery, though!

Modified by KFM at Mon, May 04, 2015, 08:55:27

Re: Re: Re: I hope someone can verify this 1937 Paris Expo story.
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Posted by: ann

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05/04/2015, 14:07:27

Still a mystery to me, too!

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Posted by: ann

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05/04/2015, 14:09:40

I forgot I had pics of mine -- here's both sides (sort of) . . .

Modified by ann at Mon, May 04, 2015, 14:10:44

Re: Arabic
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Posted by: Will

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05/04/2015, 17:53:28

A nice mystery!

I don't have Peter Francis's book with me here in Thailand, but as far as Thomas's image of the reverse of his bead is concerned, the V-shaped figure is indeed how 7 is written in Arabic, but the first figure/letter/scribble doesn't look to me a bit like the Arabic 3, which is written like this:٣.

So the mystery continues.

Cheers,

Will

37 plus 2Y or 2V
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Posted by: TASART

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05/04/2015, 17:31:11

I have always liked this type, no clue on the actual history

Re: curious little Venetian bead
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Posted by: jrj

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05/04/2015, 23:30:59

I believe Italians use a crossbar on their 7s, suggesting perhaps the 7 may not really be a 7. (Just a thought.) Could the symbol be a glaze code and the beads be a color tests for each new batch of glaze mixed?

Modified by jrj at Tue, May 05, 2015, 01:21:24

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