Featured Glass beads where from?

Italy? Or?…

 

Satin glass with a hidden clasp... Japan? The problem is that clasp was used all over the place, and those look like lampwork glass beads. They were done in lots of places. Most Czech stuff was molded, but the Italians did and do some lampwork. They're usually fussy about getting the clay out of the insides though. But not always - restrung some last night that still had a little clay in them. Modern junk beads from India and China often come with the clay still in them - goes everywhere when you string the beads.

 

Japan and Czech were my second/third guesses. Someone on eBay wrote to me once swearing up and down some lampwork beads I had were Japanese. Around the third time they did so I decided to believe them. These looked inglorious enough I figured Japan was at least an option. I didn’t even know that clay was a part of making these beads though.

 

I’m inclined to Japan. They tended to do nice clasps.

 

Lampwork beads are built around a clay core - sort of an unfired clay stick. It's drilled out afterward. In good beads it's gone completely. The cheap ones leave clay in there.