Coloured by History and Time - a photo on Flickriver

            Yesterday, I went to see my goddaughters' family so we could celebrate amongst other things, my birthday.  The mother of my goddaughters and her mother are extremely close friends of mine who are artists of Polish decent.

As a gift, my friends gave me this hand woven and strung Edwardian sautoir, which is a long necklace consisting of a fine gold chain and typically set with jewels. This necklace is made up entirely of 1920s glass bugle beads in shades of green and blue that were made in Toruń in northern Poland (then Pomerania).  There are some unique shapes, and being made of glass, they are very heavy.

However, what is remarkable about these beyond their amazing and unusual looks, is their equally amazing and unusual history.  

Between 1923 and 1939, these beads and millions like them were produced from a very successful workshop on the outskirts of Toruń and sent to fashion houses both locally and in cities like Prague, Vienna and Paris.  Then, with the coming of Hitler's invasion of Poland and the Second World War, the owners of the workshop closed their doors.  They took the beads they had in the workshop and buried them in boxes in the ground beneath the floor of the workshop and then fled, hoping to return to reclaim them some day.  And so the beads remained buried beneath the flagstones throughout the Second World War when the workshop was razed, and beyond during the re-building of post-war Poland.  Although still in possession of the land on which the workshop had stood, the owners and their descendants never returned to Toruń to claim them, and the beads became a thing of legend.  Nearly seventy years later, descendants of the original owners returned to Toruń to live, and decided to see if there was any truth to the stories of 'buried treasure'.  Much to their astonishment and delight, what they uncovered beneath the flagstones were thirty great boxes, still well preserved in the earth, of 1920s and 1930s glass bugle beads!

The beads were split up amongst a few relations, including my friends the artists.  Knowing how much I love vintage clothing, beads and the 1920s, they made me a gift of this necklace made from the bugle beads in the ten boxes they inherited.  This is the 'Naszyjnik z Zieloną Różą' or 'Green Rose Necklace'.

Taken on: November 5, 2023

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beads

bugle bead

1920s bugle beads

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1920s

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Polish

Pomeranian

Polish beads

Pomeranian beads

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Naszyjnik z zieloną różą

gift

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oblong

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Deco

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Secessionist

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Art Noveau beads

Noveau beads « less

Sets appears in: • Edwardiana • Art Deco more » • Collectables • All That Glitters • Against a Black Background « less

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Show full info

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