Anyone have any knowledge on...

[PhipsFolly]

Anyone have any knowledge on 17th and 18th Century European made (most likely Dutch) glass beads used in the African Slave Trade and in worldwide trade markets? I have recovered numerous trade beads from a local Treasure Coast property which lies just inshore from several early period wrecks. I know that some trade beads have been recovered in Corrigans Wreck survivors encampment in past excavations.Anyone else find any trade beads along the Treasure Coast associated with the shipwrecks in our area?

 

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[PhipsFolly]

Here's a pic of some of them... I have a several other types from the same location but not currently with me to photograph.

The patina on these glass beads is amazing and its clear that they were buried for a long long time...

I am pretty sure that the beads came from the (3) 17th century Dutch wrecks that sank in this particular area of the Treasure Coast as I also have an incredible 1650's period Dutch Longholster Flintlock Pistol that was recovered back in the 60's by a local in the same area. When he dug the flintlock pistol up, it was wrapped in oilcloth and although the oilcloth was severely deteriorating, the pistol was in remarkable condition... In fact, the flintlock mechanism still moves and the flint and leather piece that holds the flint in place in the screw mechanism was actually still in place!! Additionally, the original varnish (that was put on all weapons to protect them from the sea salts) was still present on this pistol!!! I haven't done any research on it yet, but someone mentioned something about the original varnish being made from bugs? Don't know if that's true... Anyone?
I don't handle the pistol and I have it in a display case but I will attach a pic of it here.

 

[PhipsFolly]

I did a little research on these trade beads and I believe that these are definately Dutch in origin and because of the locality of where they were recovered and there proximity to the 1650's period wrecks, I would conclude that they are from that time period although trade beads of these specific types were used from the early 16th through the mid 19th centuries throughout the world.

The clear and white ones are called Dutch Wound beads, the blue one is called a Dutch Dogon bead, the white with blue pattern is a Dutch Delft bead, and the green and aqua ones are Dutch Vaseline faceted beads... That's all I came up with... Anyone with comments or corrections, please jump right in... Your input would be appreciated.

 

[PhipsFolly]

Oh and I forgot to mention the coolest thing about the flintlock pistol is that it has (4) notches carved on the blackstrap area as if the owner of this pistol was keeping "score"!!!

 

[Hangingfor8]

I'm not going to be much help with your glass beads, but I would love to see more of the flintlock. That's a great weapon.

 

[stevemc]

I too would love to see some close up of the pistol. Shellac is made from crushed bugs in an alcohol mix. Varnish is more a resin/oil mixture. Jason-Scuba Finder has some knowledge of trade and slave beads, he has worked with some found in DR. Phips, you alway amaze me with your relics.

 

[PhipsFolly]

Hangfor8 and Stevemc... I will try to get some pics on TNet of my flintlock later today.

Thanks for the tip on getting info with regards to my trade beads Steve...
Besides Jason, I just remembered that I do have another informational resource to pursue as well... I recently have been invited to join the archeological dig at Jamestown, VA (which I hope to find time to do) and the head Archie there has extensive knowledge of trade beads... They have been finding quite a few of them at the site as well.

 

[PhipsFolly]

Yeah Stevemc... I have run out of room for my collection... Need a museum! Or at least a bigger safe deposit box at the bank... Hehehe!!!

My love of history and my passion for researching, recovering and bringing these pieces (and the stories associated with them) "back to life" is what drives me, but as we all know, the true treasure is the challenge and the adventure of "the hunt" and the friendships that are forged along the way.

 

[PhipsFolly]

Here's some pics of my flintlock for you guys... Unfortunately they don't truly capture the amazing character of this piece but that's the best I could do for the mo'... Hope you like 'em

 

[ScubaFinder]

Well said Phips, and what a great pistola!! You don't see them that nice very often...I'll pay admission to your museum!

Not sure how much this will help, but I do agree with your assesment that your beads are of Dutch origin. We have found similar beads, but they were from the 1821 wreck of the Felix (see first pic). The other trade beads are Italian (Venetian Glass) and are circa 1550. We have found close to 10,000 trade beads of 7 different varients on the latter wreck (other pics). We have every book available on the subject here if you'd like me to check some details for you. The dutch faceted beads were made for so long, with so little variation that it is hard to nail down the dates, but I'll help in any way I can.

Jason

 

[PhipsFolly]

Hey Jason... Thanks for your input man... Wow, had no idea that you guys had recovered so many varieties of trade beads from your DR sites! Awesome!! I'm really happy for you that you got hooked up with such a great opportunity and are loving what you're doing.

Also glad you took over the Aquapulse servicing biz as you are very conscientious and its good to have someone who understands the needs of the th'ing industry like Bill Sr. did!

 

[Jolly Mon]

You may want to check out a book called "The Beads of St. Catherine's Island". It is available from Barnes and Noble. It is an extensive report on the 70,000+ Spanish trade beads uncovered at the digs on St. Catherine's Island, Ga. It is supposedly the largest assembleage of Spanish trade beads ever discovered.

click to enlarge

 

[PhipsFolly]

That's excellent... Will seek that book out Jolly! That's what is so cool about this forum... Helping each other out and learning something new all the time... Thanks guys...

 

[Jolly Mon]

Sure hope it helps. Beautiful stuff, by the way. A couple of snippets:


From left to right: On top French manganese black opaque bead, some created with the a speo process; bottom Spanish spherical dot-incised gilded glass bead (6 found); cut crystal, potentially manufactured in Spain because of inferior quality to known beads from France or Venice (6 found, as well as other nonglass beads of carnelian, jet and amber); On top unique yellow melon shaped bead, possibly from China; bottom Chinese wound translucent-transparent green (4 found); blown black bead with greenish-yellow dots (13 found with one burial that are potentially French); wound green faceted teardrop (unique, of unknown origin, and not found with a burial); and Spanish cross of manganese black glass decorated with white waves and light blue dots (one of 5).




From left to right: Common cobalt blue seed bead, most likely from Venice (20,906 found); unique blue green melon bead from China; Spanish gilded oval glass bead (15 found); ichtucknee plain turquoise blue bead with white patinas now thought to be manufactured in France (one of 5,265); On top greenish blue faceted bead or charlotte from the Margariteri guild of Venice (138 found); bottom Venetian turquoise/green-blue seed bead or rocaille (5777 found); five layer chevron compound bead from the Netherlands (3 fragments); unique bead of opaque blue over transparent blue with stripes, probably from the Paternostri guild of Venice; Green Heart bugle bead with a thin clear veneer over red-orange glass over green glass from the Margariteri guild of Venice (one of 5); and a speo Green Hearts from the Paternostri Venetian guild (one of 12).

 

[stevemc]

WOW!!!! That pistol is in fantastic condition! I forgot Jolly Mon had had posted pics of glass trade beads found in GA.

 

[PhipsFolly]

Thanks again Jolly Mon... Excellent photos and info to reference. I believe the majority of the beads that I am finding are pretty much of Dutch origin... Which is no surprise since they are most likely associated with the 17th century Dutch wrecks in the area. I knew about trade beads but never had any idea how many types there were and how many nations made and used them!

The pistol having been buried in oilcloth in the soil helped preserve it really well... When you look at it in person, there is no doubt of its age and provenance but it is in exceptional shape overall. I was so lucky to be able to have first shot at purchasing it from the finders son... The original finder passed away years ago.

 

[stevemc]

The problem with trade/glass beads is like with bronze spikes, you can possibly find who made them, but it is hard to date, and it doesnt help with a shipwreck date and country, exactly. But they are a great artifact.

 

[PhipsFolly]

Yeah... I hear you Steve. That applies to so many artifacts on both Terrestrial and marine sites... Everyone was trading or selling or stealing each others goods and weapons and even ships for that matter... But I guess that's part of the fun and challenge of what we do is to dig deeper and strive toward good working conclusions... Which sometimes means going with our best guess when all else fails...

 

[Southern_Digger]

I have seen beads dug in the everglades during the early 1960's supposedly originating in Portugal and dating from 1400A.D and into 1500 A.D.. At the time I was told these beads were valued at $300 each (in 1977). Also, I was told these beads were supposedly made at a town in Europe where glassmaking was kept a secret--so protective that if anyone involved with the process attempted to leave, they were put to death. Most were found in CALOOSA Indian sites which is now within government land. Most of these beads were first received in trade, then eventually seized by this tribe from Mendez along the west Florida Coast. Also, they killed Spaniards and siezed some gold which later was found as far inland as the Ft. Center mound near Lake Okecobee. The Platt family (Florida Pioneers) owned and ranched the land at the time at Lakeport and my father worked for them as a Palmetto Cowman after he got out of service during WW2. When very young, we would drive up old US27 from Miami and spend a weekend visiting them from time to time. About 1961, Nathan Platt took dad and my brother across the pasture to see the old Ft. Center site and the ancient Indian mound. I stayed at his farm and never got to see it. However, I did get to see it in 1977 and used my detector on his land adjacent to the state property. However, by 1977 the mound was now a pond. In 1966 or thereabouts Dr. Sears dug the mound finding some of Mendez's gold re-formed into animal statues and such by the early native tribe (not the Seminoles). Sears wrote a book and if he found early trade beads, it will be in his book. There are other places where similar beads were dug. I worked with a woman in mid-1970's whose family owned property at the Mouth of the Manatee River, which contained a large mound or midden--that site, too produced early contact beads. I found beads digging private property near the Big Cypress Reservation; and, I found beads digging and inspecting archeological sites for my county. However, most of these dated to the nineteenth century and were considered Seminole trade beads. I only have a photo (B&w) of one cobalt trade bead which I placed in an article I wrote for a local historical journal about digging Tequesta sites on the Eastern fringes of the Everglades. I do not own any glass beads because I gave them to the museum and others to a relative whose husband and son's used to dive on a Spanish wreck off Boca Raton. She was attempting to acquire enough to make a necklace. And last, there was a Seminole village in our county that dated until about 1876. Later, it was a dairy. I could never get permission to dig there even though my grandfather was good friends to the current owner's father. I started a metal detecting club in Broward Co. in 1981 along with the late Larry Aaron. The wife of one of my club members was a private nurse and worked with that family. Therefore, he was allowed exclusively on the property and dug cases of glass beads and drilled coins from the site. I never acquired photos or could study the collection to see if early contact beads were found on the site; However, since the coins dated back to the 1830's, it is possible all beads dated only back to the 1800's. The only beads I now have are clay examples that I dug from a retired Senators property in SW Florida on a bead manufacturing site that I found quite by accident while I was searching for a Seminole War skirmish site. After local archeologists ignored the site which was destined to be dozed down--under instruction from Dr. Milanich from the University--I sank a 2-meter square pit to 70 centimeters in one spot and sent him samples of the material for study. In that one pit I removed over 300 clay beads--most I gave to museums. Thank You for sharing photos of these historic glass artifacts from colonial Florida.
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BTW-- Regarding the Spanish flintlock... I know of a Spanish musket that was dug inland from Mantanzas area. While searching private lumber property with permission and with much Natl Archives research and maps; I located and dug a Seminole War site in No. Fla. during the 1980's which turned out to be an early settlement along the Old Kings Highway. The site was privately owned and after I mapped and dug the settlement site, I was supposed to go explore and search another nearby site I had found in early maps located along a creek. My partner for this dig I had to rely on because I was having transportation problems at the time, so we relied on his truck to get back and forth from south Florida. After the second weekend on the site, he did a double-cross, claimed he was sick and could not make it. However, he did go and brought several others, digging the site bare in my absence, including a pit of early 1830's ceramics which I located the week previous. I was frustrated and never returned to the site after that; and, fortunately, I never told him about the adjacent site along the creek. Since then, I have worked alone or with only one trusted friend--and have been quite successful. Eventually, word got out on the site and a museum began doing digs, shutting it down for everyone else. Because I never told anyone about the site along the creek, it set dormant for another five years. On year six, while digging elsewhere with a new No. Fla. contact, I learned, the site on the creek was now on the internet. He went to that creek site 6 years after I walked away frustrated and he dug a virgin site, recovering much evidence of colonial Florida which included parts to English muskets with regimental numbers stamped upon them. In addition, he found a complete and beautiful Second-spanish occupation musket. It is a beauty, with fancy trigger guard; hammer ornate sideplate, ect. Of course, most of the stock had rotted away. I held it but was not allowed to photograph it. Someday, maybe I can earn his trust and get photos because it ties in directly with the 1800's site I dug nearby and I will publish the site history someday.

 

[GatorBoy]

Anyone have any knowledge on 17th and 18th Century European made (most likely Dutch) glass beads used in the African Slave Trade and in worldwide trade markets? I have recovered numerous trade beads from a local Treasure Coast property which lies just inshore from several early period wrecks. I know that some trade beads have been recovered in Corrigans Wreck survivors encampment in past excavations.Anyone else find any trade beads along the Treasure Coast associated with the shipwrecks in our area?

More Associated with Native American sites ..and nothing to do with Africans ....on the Treasure Coast.
Great post SouthernDigger


More than one Native American stone celt like this one have been found on Spanish shipwrecks also.