Question about old pearls

[caribbeancollector]

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[caribbeancollector]

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[GemGeek]

That is so interesting. Thanks for reentering the text again. These pearls would mainly have value to a collector of historical items. How to value? That is a great question. I suspect that the drilled pearls might be more valuable as they document interference by man. But you have come to the right place...

 

[caribbeancollector]

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[Miriam Reed]

Fascinating bit of history!

 

[knotty panda]

Consult with Akira Hyatt at the GIA in New York. Not only is she the pearl expert, but she's the cleaner expert. She was the consultant for the shipwreck find. We also have some natural pearl dealers who frequent (as well as one who is an admin) this site. I'm sure someone will pop in quite soon and contact you.

 

[pattye]

Very interesting, and so nice to have photos and information here--hope we will find out more soon!

 

[caribbeancollector]

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[caribbeancollector]

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[Caitlin]

I'd wear a strand of those. My skin would polish them- Unless they are calcium leached and fragile. (not kidding)

"yeah, $1 each is about right, send them on over". Signed Octavia. (sorry gg, but she blackberried Pearl Dragon. We/oops, I mean "they" are conspiring to get them!)

Just kidding. What does the friend want to sell them for? How would you do it? By the weight of the lot? Those kind of pearls are sold by the carat, I would guess. I love that old glass iridescent thing they have. They are still alive.

Those are native beads, the trade beads are less commercial, more historical, but the native beads might be restored a little and worn too. (I am terrible I have some Chimu Peruvian beads from just before the Conquest). See first two pictures.They are very plentiful and found in many buried sites as well as grave goods. The locals are also making imitation chimu beads from new spondalous shell spines (known as "originales" and they are great. I have some of those too.
The bottom pic shows a turquoise necklace then the ancient strand, then the modern Chimu beads, then on the outside Navajo drilled coral and a mix of old and new beads. It is the center 2 I am putting that pic up for. The big shell bead on the modern necklace is an ancient bead too.

I wore the ancient beads against my skin and they polished right up, lost their dryness. see 2nd pic.

 

[Caitlin]

Dang I need to start wearing them again! I've been so caught up in Pearls, pearls, pearls.

When I was about 13, I once found a dozen old beads from a box canyon wall cave near the Window Rock fairgrounds (Navajo Nation). I took them to the tribal anthropologist to put in a museum, and he (Richard van Falconburg) said the were of no interest and I could keep them. I didn't because I was (and still am, afraid of chindi) which means the bad part of human spirits that gets left behind at death. The good parts go on somewhere else.

Though I think those beads were my first bead loves and I became a beader when I grew up.

 

[Caitlin]

One more thing

The island of Cubagua is where the ruins of Nueva Cadiz, one of the first cities in the New World, are found

Do you mean Spanish cities? Mexico was full of ancient cities, larger and more sophisticated than any European cities going on at the time. Mexico city's a site that goes back a thousand years and more. There were over a million citizens living in it when Cortez came. That doesn't even mention the Mayan cities.
the pic below has more maroon spondalous spine beads.
Maybe I'll bring some to the Convention. It's shell after all. Shell jewelry is the oldest in the world, found a thousand miles from any ocean. Anazazi sites (pre-1400AD) had a lot of shell jewelry lying around. Bracelets carved from the rim of a shell were almost common.

To this day Navajo, each of the 4 sacred mountains was protected by a guardian. Abalone Shell Woman, White Shell Woman, Turquoise Woman and Jet Woman (also known as "Black Shell Woman")

 

[Valeria101]

I would imagine that these pearls are more at home among collectors of antique (truly) jewelry then the general natural pearl public, small as that crowd is...

The stash reminds me of something:

Blue Water Ventures

From the look of it, you have more then enough information to have the entire lot recognized for what it is by any standards...

Necklaces of antique beads have their own public (sample).

2c