ANCIENT ANTIQUE VIKING BEAD.

Vikings valued beads very highly, often demanding them as tribute from conquered enemies. They also were very skillful at producing beads and after occupying York England in 866, set up manufacturing facilities.

For sale is a Viking white glass bead from York England, circa 866 to 1067A.D. It is 8.5 mm (1/3") in diameter and handmade on a mandrel. While most mandrel wound beads were built up from a thread of molten glass wrapped around itself, this one appears to been cut from a ribbon of glass, wrapped around the mandrel and the butt joint melted to seal the seam. That made for a somewhat more uniform bead, but may have been done simply to save time. That technique is very rarely encountered. Vi98a

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