Trade Beads

1532–1600

Glassmaker unknown (Italian)

Venetian artists made these rare, seven-layer beads by gathering multiple shades of molten glass into hollow, ball-like forms; stretching those forms into long rods, or “canes”; then cutting and polishing sections of the canes into beads. Spanish colonizers brought these dazzling glassworks as items of trade to South America. Once Europeans introduced manufactured glass to the Americas, its production in this hemisphere flourished. These beads and other objects in this case represent the beauty and versatility of the glass medium, which led to innovative approaches to functional and decorative wares.

Status: On View, Gallery 264
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Unknown glassmaker (Maker)
Title: Trade Beads
Place: Peru (Object found in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1532–1600
Medium: Glass
Dimensions: Smallest: 0.6 × 0.6 × 0.6 cm (1/4 × 1/4 × 1/4 in.); Largest: 1.5 × 1.4 × 1.4 cm (5/8 × 9/16 × 9/16 in.); Striped bead: 0.5 × 0.7 × 0.7 cm (1/4 × 5/16 × 5/16 in.)
Credit Line: Kate S. Buckingham Endowment
Reference Number: 1955.2574

Eduard Gaffron (1861–1931), Lima, Peru, from 1892 to 1912, then Berlin, from 1912 [History of the Department report (Joanne Behrens, 1985) and correspondence in curatorial file]; by descent to his children Mercedes Gaffron (1908–1993), Berlin then Durham, NC, and Hans Gaffron (1902–1979), Berlin then Chicago [correspondence and documentation of the Gaffron Collection in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1955.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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