We got these red "Zen" beads from a reliable source a while ago who said they were found in Abidjan from a rich family; he said they were not worn, kind of uncirculated and enough of them to make 2 strands.
I believe these beads are Venetian. They look consistent with the ones we have in our collection. They are 16 to 17mm in size, with a hole of ~3mm with no white deposit, and are overall in excellent condition - better made and/or better conserved and more shiny than the ones in the museum collection.
In Venice everybody with bead knowledge said they are not Venetian, but Indonesian. We are baffled. We really don't deal with Indonesia, so we would like to ask those of you who go to Indonesia and deal there to let us know if you have ever seen these beads on the market. We would assume that if they are really made there, we would see more of them online, in shows, etc.
JP
