My divisions below are an artificial means of teasing apart all the different types of beadwork possible. The same beading stitches might be used in a bezel, a beaded object or a geometric object.
Beads have been used by humans for tens of thousands of years; an early example of beads made from sea shells is thought to be 100,000 years old. The earliest glass beads date back to at least Roman times.
I have not quite determined what will make a bead seem “ancient” to me, but for now it will be anything from early medieval times in Europe. The emphasis is more on the bead and how it was made than on beadwork created with the bead.
A few of my favorite artists that could be easily identified by context in Pinterest links. There are many more worth following and many of the general beads posts also have identifiable artists.
Beads arranged in circle or oval shapes that encase a larger bead, stone, rivoli gem, etc.
Beads worked around objects, generally peyote stitch; unlike Huichol, the beads are strung together rather than pressed into wax.
Beads sewn onto cloth, leather, or some other stable backing.
Closely placed beads, often peyote stitch, that result in multifaceted, regular geometric shapes, influenced by the original shape of the bead and the stitch used. Some more open shapes are assembled based on specific geometric principles and are used as an aid to understanding the science of structures as well as an art form.
Right now this is a catch-all category for both traditional beading practices and beading from other eras; of course, both can be true. Later I will divide out recognizable beading traditions, such as Native American and African, and perhaps make a category for European court dress beaded embroidery.
Beads set down into a beeswax/pitch mixture, general hole side up. The wax is heated in the hands and applied to the surface of gourds, wood, rocks or polymer clay structures.
Multi-holed beads including newer kinds such as tila, twin, superduo and rulla, as well as pressed glass shapes.
Bead covered round ornaments, generally beaded with netting stitches that allow the beads to expand with the underlying ball, and allow the ball to show through the beading.
Beading starting with a small, round base, expanding row by row to form lacy shapes.
Traditional soutache is a decorative braid used to trim clothes; beaded soutache involves braiding arranged around and connected to beads; generally used to make necklaces.
