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[[Image:Beads.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Beads]]

A '''bead''' is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for [[yarn|threading]] or stringing. Beads range in size from under {{convert|1|mm|in}} to over {{convert|1|cm|in}} in diameter. A pair of beads made from ''[[Nassarius]]'' sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of [[jewellery]].
<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1670011.htm Shell beads suggest new roots for culture]</ref><ref>[http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0703877104v1 82,000-year-old shell beads from North Africa and implications for the origins of modern human behavior]</ref> [[Beadwork]] is the art or craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized [[yarn|thread]], strung onto thread or soft, flexible [[wire]], or adhered to a surface (e.g. [[Cloth|fabric]], [[clay]]). 

== Types of beads ==
[[Image:Cloisonnebeads.jpg|thumb|right|Cloisonné beads]]

Beads may be divided into several types of overlapping categories, based on different criteria such as component materials, manufacturing process, place or period of origin, surface patterning, or general shape. In some cases, such as [[millefiori]] and [[cloisonné]] beads, multiple categories may overlap in an inseparably interdependent fashion.

== Components ==
Beads can be made of many types of materials. The earliest beads were made of convenient natural materials; when found, these could be readily drilled and shaped. As human technology became capable of obtaining or working with more difficult natural materials, those were added to the range of available substances. The same was true of new synthetic materials when created.

In modern manufacturing, the most common bead materials are [[plastic]], [[glass]], [[metal]], and [[Rock (geology)|stone]].

=== Natural materials ===
Beads are still made from many naturally-occurring materials, both organic (i.e., of [[animal]]- or [[plant]]-based origin) and inorganic (purely [[mineral]] origin). However, some of these materials now routinely undergo some extra human processing beyond mere shaping and drilling, such as color enhancement via [[dyes]] or irradiation.

The natural organics include [[bone]], [[Coral (precious)|coral]], [[horn (anatomy)|horn]], [[ivory]], [[seed]]s (such as [[tagua]] nuts), [[animal shell]], and [[wood]]. For most of human history, [[pearl]]s were the ultimate precious beads of natural origin because of their rarity, although the [[cultured pearl|pearl-culturing process]] has now made them far more common. [[Amber]] and [[jet (lignite)|jet]] are also of natural organic origin, although both materials have undergone partial geologic [[fossil]]ization.

The natural inorganics include various types of [[Rock (geology)|stone]]s (from [[gemstone]]s to common [[mineral]]s) and [[metal]]s. Of the latter, only a few [[precious metal]]s occur in pure forms, but other purified [[base metal]]s may as well be placed in this category along with certain naturally-occurring alloys such as [[electrum]].

=== Synthetic materials ===
[[Image:Crystbeads.jpg|thumb|right|[[Swarovski]] crystal beads ({{nowrap|6 mm&ndash;8 mm}}), pendant 3 cm]]
[[Image:Hama beads.jpg|thumb|right|Fusible beads]]
The oldest-surviving synthetic materials used for beadmaking have generally been [[ceramic]]s: [[pottery]] and [[glass]]. Beads were also made from the ancient alloys such as [[bronze]] and [[brass]], but as those were more vulnerable to [[oxidation]], those have generally been less well-preserved at archaeological sites.

Many different subtypes of [[glass]] are now used for beadmaking, some of which have their own component-specific names. [[Lead crystal]] beads have a high percentage of [[lead oxide]] in the glass formula, increasing the [[refractive index]]. Most of the other named glass types have their formulations and patterns inseparable from the manufacturing process.

Plastic fusible beads are also known as Perler Beads, or called "melty beads" by young children. These small colorful beads can be placed on a solid plastic-backed peg array to form designs and then melted together with a [[Ironing|clothes iron]]; alternately, they can be strung into necklaces or bracelets, or woven into keychains. Fusible beads come in many colors and degrees of [[transparency and translucency|transparency]]/[[opacity (optics)|opacity]], including varieties that glow in the dark or have internal [[glitter]]; peg boards come in various shapes and several geometric patterns.

== Manufacturing ==
Modern mass-produced beads are generally shaped by [[carving]] or [[casting]], depending on the material and desired effect. In some cases, more specialized [[metalworking]] or [[glass]]working techniques may be employed, or a combination of multiple techniques and materials such as [[cloisonné]].

=== Glassworking ===
[[Image:Pressedglass.jpg|thumb|right|Pressed glass beads (matte finish with an AB coating)]]
[[Image:Firebead.jpg|thumb|left|Fire polished beads ({{convert|10|mm}}) with AB coating]]
Most glass beads are [[pressed glass]], mass-produced by preparing a molten batch of [[Glass coloring and color marking|glass of the desired color]] and pouring it into molds to form the desired shape. This is also true of most [[plastic]] beads.

A smaller and more expensive subset of glass and lead crystal beads are cut into precise faceted shapes on an individual basis. This was once done by hand, but has largely been taken over by precision machinery.

"Fire-polished" faceted beads are a less expensive alternative to hand-cut faceted glass or crystal. They derive their name from the second half of a two-part process: first, the glass batch is poured into molds with faceted shapes and allowed to cool; the faceted beads are then poured onto a tray and briefly reheated just long enough to melt the surface, "polishing" out any minor surface irregularities from the mold.

==== Specialized glass techniques/types ====
[[Image:Dichroicclose.jpg|thumb|right|Dichroic beads ({{convert|10|mm}})]]
[[Image:Furnaceglass.jpg|thumb|right|Furnace glass beads]]
There are several specialized glassworking techniques that create a distinctive appearance throughout the body of the resulting beads, which are then primarily referred to by the glass type.

If the glass batch is used to create a large massive block instead of pre-shaping it as it cools, the result may then be carved into smaller items in the same manner as stone. Conversely, glass artisans may make beads by [[lampworking]] the glass on an individual basis; once formed, the beads undergo little or no further shaping after the layers have been properly [[annealing (glass)|anneal]]ed.

Most of these glass subtypes are some form of [[fused glass]], although [[Goldstone (gemstone)|goldstone]] is created by controlling the reductive atmosphere of the glass batch rather than by fusing separate components together.

[[Dichroic glass]] beads incorporate a semitransparent microlayer of metal between two or more layers. [[Fibre optic]] glass beads have an eyecatching [[chatoyant]] effect across the grain.

There are also several ways to fuse many small glass canes together into a multicolored pattern, resulting in [[millefiori]] beads or [[chevron bead]]s (sometimes called "trade beads"). "Furnace glass" beads encase a multicolored core in a transparent exterior layer which is then annealed in a furnace.

More economically, millefiori beads can also be made by limiting the patterning process to long, narrow canes or rods known as murrine. Thin cross-sections, or "decals", can then be cut from the murrine and fused into the surface of a plain glass bead.

== Shapes ==
* [[Bugle bead]]s

===Hair pipe beads===
Elk rib bones were the original material for the long, tubular [[hair pipe]] beads.<ref>Dubin 43, 44</ref> Today these beads are commonly made of [[bison]] and [[water buffalo]] bones and are that popular for breastplates and chokers among [[Plains Indians]]. Black variations of these beads are made from the animals' horns.

===Seed beads===
{{main|Seed bead}}
Seed beads are uniformly shaped spheroidal or tube shaped beads ranging in size from under a millimetre to several millimetres. "Seed Bead" is a generic term for any small bead. Usually rounded in shape, seed beads are most commonly used for [[Bead weaving|loom]] and [[Bead weaving|off-loom]] bead weaving. 

== Place or period of origin ==
[[Image:Cinnabarbead.jpg|thumb|right|Carved [[Cinnabar]] [[lacquer]] beads]]
'''African trade beads''' or '''[[slave beads]]''' may be antique beads that were manufactured in Europe and used for trade during the colonial period, such as chevron beads; or they may have been made in West Africa by and for Africans, such as Mauritanian [[Kiffa beads]], Ghanaian and Nigerian [[powder glass beads]], or African-made brass beads.

'''Austrian crystal''' is a generic term for cut lead-crystal beads, based on the location and prestige of the [[Swarovski]] firm.

'''Czech glass''' beads are made in the [[Czech Republic]], centralized around an area called [[Jablonec nad Nisou]]. Production of glass beads in the area dates back to the 14th century, though production was depressed under communist rule. Because of this long tradition, their workmanship and quality has an excellent reputation.

'''Vintage beads''', in the collectibles and antique market, refers to an items that are at 25 or more years old. Vintage beads are available in materials that include lucite, plastic, crystal, metal and glass.

=== Miscellaneous ethnic beads ===
[[Tibet]]an [[Dzi bead]]s and [[Rudraksha bead]]s are customary for making Buddhist and Hindu rosaries ([[Prayer beads|malas]]). [[Magatama]] are traditional [[Japan]]ese beads, and [[cinnabar]] was often used for beads in [[China]]. [[Wampum]] are cylindrical white or purple beads made from [[quahog]] or North Atlantic [[channeled whelk]] shells by northeastern Native American tribes, such as the [[Wampanoag]] and [[Shinnecock Indian Nation|Shinnecock]].<ref>Dubin, 170-171</ref> [[Job's tears]] are a popular seed bead among Southeastern Native American tribes.

== Surface patterns ==
After shaping, glass and crystal beads can have their surface appearance enhanced by etching a translucent frosted layer, applying an additional color layer, or both. ''Aurora Borealis'', or AB, is a surface coating that diffuses light into a rainbow. Other surface coatings are vitrail, moonlight, dorado, satin, star shine, heliotrope.

Faux beads are beads that are made to look like a more expensive original material, especially in the case of fake [[pearl]]s and simulated rocks, [[minerals]] and [[gemstone]]s. Precious metals and [[ivory]] are also imitated. 

[[Tagua nut]]s from South America are used as an ivory substitute since the natural ivory trade has been restricted worldwide.

==See also==
{{commonscat|beads}}
{{wiktionary|bead}}
* [[Glass beadmaking]]
* [[Ultraviolet-sensitive bead]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Beck, Horace (1928) "Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants." Archaeologia 77. (Reprinted by Shumway Publishers York, PA 1981)
* Dubin, Lois Sherr. ''North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present''. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999: 170-171. ISBN 0-8109-3689-5.

{{beadwork}}
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[[Category:Beadwork]]
[[Category:Craft materials]]
[[Category:Jewellery components]]

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