Czech Bohemian

The three centuries of the Czech / Bohemian glass bead industry stem from the expertise of their stone cutters, working with bright red garnets in and around the Bohemian village of Turnov, in today's Czech Republic. Development of glassmaking began in the early 1700's to compete with the Venetians, who had started to produce less expensive translucent red glass and depress the genuine garnet market.
From those times, the Czechs developed their bead-making into a fine art, at first researching the world market and copying popular original beads in glass, then creating their own styles and becoming one of the leading producers of trade beads which were distributed throughout the world. Their tradition of fine bead-making continues to this day, as can be seen by the examples of old and new glass offered in the following pages.

Click on the Pictures or Links below to be taken to the relevant bead pages

"Wedding bead"
Strands
from Mali
Large 'Claw and Drop' 
-
Traditional Fulani
Photograph

Various
Matched
"Wedding bead"
Small
Collections

Large collections
of early
'Vaseline' beads

Small Collections

Bohemian
Kakamba
Matched Collections

Shades of Blue
Antique
Beads
from the
Deserts of Mali
Mixed colours


Single Coloured Spheres
Matched Collections

Reference Strand

Multifaceted
Mixed Strands

Pastel Blue
"Vaselines"

Single Beads

"Dice Beads"
Small collections

Single
"Wedding bead"
Pendants

Multi-faceted
Singles


ADDITIONS
Beautifully matched
Plum-coloured
Antique Ovals

1800's -1900's
Colour-matched
Oval Glass
Project Bead
Collections

"Snake - Bone
and
Disc Bead"
Collections

Seed bead
Necklaces
and
Bracelets

"Cut" Blue Glass
~
"Russians"
~
Opaque Blue
"Vaselines"

Ancient Carnelian
Strands
and
Czech 'Carnelian'
Singles

Antique
Small
Collections


ADDITIONS
Faceted
Glass
Matched
and
Mixed Strands

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