'Astrifiammante' - black lustre hollow beads with bumps

Astrifiammante - translated as 'star blazing' , is one of the names that the Queen of the Night is referred to in the 'Magic Flute'.

Hollow black glass beads with carefully placed patterns of bumps naturally reduces to an incredible sheen of an almost rainbows-in-oil effect on the surface of the beads.  It is almost impossible to capture the effect, it changes with the lighting and can range from a tawny peach to a rich blue all in the same place.  The beads appear to almost have a hematite surface with extra pizazz.

The fosetta in the beads are a sign of an expert craftsman, each one rounded and curving into the bead, giving a smooth and elegant feel to the beads and allowing them to be used in a project without worrying about the stringing material being cut or chafed by sharp edges.

The largest hollow measures approximately 16x22  going down to approximately 12x18mm for the smallest hollows. The beads are temporarily strung on craft wire with small silver-plated beads and Czech glass hematite-coloured bicone spacers.