During excavations for a railway line in 1847 at Kilmainham near Dublin, a number of beads were found along with various other items. The beads were of a style not commonly found anywhere else other than as occasional single beads such as the one in the 'Pagan Princess' set on display in the museum on the Isle of Man. These elegant and elaborate blue and white beads were never properly recorded and it is believed that a number of them were never handed in by the workers.
The ones that remain are spectacular examples of the beadmaker's art, many of them are on display in the British Museum, and several are on display in the Dublin Museum. The reproductions Mike has created show what they may have looked like when they were new, and shiny.
The types assigned to the beads are ones developed by Mike after spending time working on recreating the ones that are shown below. These types are based on shape, construction and decoration. There are more beads from the finds that he has not yet made, they will be listed for sale as he finishes them.
Type A is characterised by a longer tubular barrel shape with twisted blue and white glass cable ends. Decorations range from none on the body of the bead through a layered series of blue and white dots accented by yellow-orange glass dots.
Type B is characterised by a deeper, drumlike shape, with additional scrollwork using the same blue and white cables of glass.
PRICING: each bead is priced individually as noted in the image of the bead, please select the type from the drop-down menu, the price will displayed as an increment above the base price for the Type A bead.
