Bead Museums
A listing of Bead Museums sound so stuffy! Yet for many of us, is not Bead Study a constant occupation?
These bead exhibitions amazingly hold a substantial representation of the world's history in Beads.
Bead Museums are a lively destination for beadwork excursions; gather your fellow artists and create a bead-centered vacation! Each location will have their own focus and collection. Some are large institutions, others are small without fanfare, but have such interesting beads. Many offer scholarly journals and other publications, and some even have sales of certain beads. Visit their websites and call ahead to verify information.
As a bead aficionado, I'm grateful that researchers so carefully document and preserve bead history. As a bead artist I'm delighted for the opportunity to study the well-known beads of antiquity, understanding patterns and styles as they re-emerge in modern designs. Beads excite, they sooth, and they connect us with the entire planet through a universal art form. It can be heartening to sense the community of individual art and artists. Our collective Bead History offers unparallel inspiration.
This listing is not exhaustive and does not imply endorsement nor exclusion.
This page: Bead Museums
Or quick jump to the
Bead Glossary
to view additional resources for viewing African Trade beads online. Or return to the BEAD STUDY page for references for beaded handbags, the Bead Shows, and more.
Center for Bead Research
http://www.thebeadsite.com
This information-rich destination is a read-only reference website from the late and honored
Peter Francis Jr.
Log on to review excellent articles and images about ancient beads, trade beads, beading and beadwork. It is an excellent source of reference and remains on the Web as a testimony to the life’s work of Peter Francis Jr.
Hand Thoughts
http://www.handthoughts.com/
is an international, educational bead/art eZine. It is an extraordinary website: scholarly, yet playful, full of bead history and articles on contemporary bead study. "HandThoughts exists to advance the understanding of beads and beadwork globally, and to explore the multiple contexts and meanings of this ancient, creative expression from many points of view".
The Bead Museum in Glendale Arizona
http://www.thebeadmuseum.com/
"The Bead Museum was founded in 1984 to establish a safe haven for a permanent collection of beads and adornments of all cultures, past and present, which would provide an enduring opportunity for the study and enjoyment of these magnificent examples of art and ingenuity...(we) welcome you to the exciting and surprising world of beads."
The Bead Museum in Washington, DC
http://www.beadmuseumdc.org Wonderful gallery focused on bead history and bead preservation, located in our nation's capital. This institution's online shop offers
scholarly publications
that mirror their permanent exhibits. Located in the Jenifer Building at 400 Seventh Street Northwest, Ground Floor. An excellent addition to a museum tour of DC.
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Expedia can help with travel plans
Picard Trade Bead Museum
http://www.picardbeads.com "..Dedicated to the history and aesthetic display of beads traded in Africa throughout the centuries. Over 50,000 beads and ornaments. And a gift shop with a large selection of collector beads. The
Picard Publications
are extraordainary bead history, with some images available on the website. The museum is located in Mid-Valley Carmel, 5 minutes from beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea on Carmel Valley Road, and is two hours south of San Francisco, California.
The Society of Bead Researchers
http://www.mindspring.com/~larinc/sbr/index/index.htm "The Society is a non-profit corporation, founded in 1981 to foster research on beads of all materials and periods, and to expedite the dissemination of the resultant knowledge. Membership is open to all persons involved in the study of beads, as well as those interested in keeping abreast of current trends in bead research." The Society publishes a biannual newsletter,
The Bead Forum and an annual journal, Beads. NOTE: They sell back issues of their publications and their website lists a descriptive table of contents.
The Oneida Indian Nation
http://oneida-nation.net
"As the first American Indian Nation in the United States to establish a World Wide Web site and utilize this innovative technology, our Nation, located in the heart of New York State, is proud to share its People, culture, history, and progress with you." Spectacular bead embroidery, but continue on after the bead history and wampum studies, and read this entire website: beautiful and informative.
The National Bead Society
http://nationalbeadsociety.com
"The National Bead Society is dedicated to the academic study of beads and dissemination of bead information. We accept bead-related articles and invite interested parties to discuss bead problems on our Bead Forum."
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Brick & mortor locations of Bead Museums mean showcases of fantastic beads one can study in person. Some of the museums are large, some are small, all are interesting and a fine opportunity for bead study.
Expedia can help with travel plans
The Bead Society Trust
(UK) http://www.beadstudytrust.org.uk/
"The study of beads can throw new information on societies past and present. The (Trust) was founded in 1980 to promote research using archaeological, ethnographic, and scientific techniques." This institution continues the work of Horace C. Beck (1873-1941) who began the formal study of beads found at the archaeological sites at
Ur
Nineveh
and
Taila
Mr. Beck's name and his catalogs referenced at many other bead history sites.
The Center for the Study of Beadwork
Portland, Oregon http://www.europa.com/~alice/ "Although recently updated (04/21/03), this web site is still in the early stages of development. The initial activity of this site will be to sell books and magazines, the profits from which will be used to support this site." Back issues of notes from a Beadworker's Journal and slide kits of their exhibits are available.
The Bead Bugle
is an online Ezine, that is, it is an illustrated magazine that is only on the Internet. There is a great deal to see here from bead exhibits to interviews with the bead artists of the present day and many beadwork and bead history links. This URL is their doorway to exhibits and galleries: http://www.nfobase.com/html/exhibits.html
The Murano Glass Museum is located in the Palazzo Giustinian near the Murano island center. The museum holds samples of glass from Egyptian times through the present day, and the displays show how the art and manufacture of glass developed over the centuries. Wanna Go? Expedia has aSpring 2004 Europe Sale.
You can reach Murano by boat from San Zaccaria, just up the Riva degli Schiavoni from St. Mark's Square in Venice (Italy). If you go, take in the
Burano Lace Museum
in the 14th-century Palazzo Rodotà, the former building of the School of Lace founded in 1872 by the Countess Adriano Marcello. You can admire all the beautiful lace produced on this island for centuries. The exhibition includes some very valuable pieces, drawings, photographs, personal journals and lace work techniques. Beads, glass, lace, and Venice...Wow...a Bead History vacation!
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