antique Korean Glass bead necklace each bead made individually by hand. About 200 years old
This necklace is from the Choson Dynasty and is about 200 years old.
The necklace you see below is 66 inches long. It can be worn as a very rare necklace, as it is, or for those of you who may be in the jewelry business, the beads may be removed and used individually for making unusual earrings or other pieces of small jewelry or embroidery.
These hand made beads are rare.
If you make the rounds of antique shops in Korea, you will find occasional offerings of 5 to 10 handmade glass beads in a small box with an asking price of $25 to $200 for the group. This necklace is 66 inches long. I counted the beads in a few 10 inch lengths. They averaged 62 every 10 inches. That makes the total number of beads approximately 409, more or less. I didn't have the patience to count the exact number. I started to, three times but lost my count each time and gave up.
If you surf the internet looking for beads labeled as handmade Korean glass beads you will find many offered. But look at the pictures. All of the beads in each group are identical. They are obviously not individually hand made.
I am including the pictures of beads on the necklace below so you can look at the individual beads to see how different they each are.
Each of the beads on this necklace is different. No two are the same. These are really individually hand made and quite valuable.
example of rarity
To emphasize the rarity of the Jeoson Dynasty hand made glass beads, the two to the right (not included in this sale) are on exhibit at the National Folk Museum of Korea in Seoul. These two beads are from the same time period as the ones in the necklace.
You will receive this Certificate of Origin with the necklace