Venetian glass beadworkers have been working with beads since the 12th Century. By the 16th Century, the craft was so refined that traders used the beads as currency. The beads traveled from Europe to Africa via maritime routes and then reached India via Gujarati cotton traders. Unbound by Beads, Migration, Memory & Material, a forthcoming exhibition at London Craft Week, is inspired by this journey. The exhibition, curated by MOI Fine Jewellery – the contemporary offshoot founded by husband and wife duo Puja & Kunal Shah – in collaboration with Princess Diya Kumari Foundation Artisan Collective – traces how these global traded beads became a part of matrilineal tradition within the Meghwal Community of Barmer in Rajasthan. Photo: Naveli ChhoyalFor Puja & Kunal, the idea began with a question about what defines a collectable Kunal says that he spoke to a lot of people over the past decade and found that few could identify a collectible they had acquired within the last decade. “That raised the question of what makes an item truly collectible.” Their research led them to beadworking tradition shaped by Venetian glass beads that were brought from Europe to India. They were struck by how these beads, over time, had become part of wedding traditions in some parts of India. In remote communities in western India, women make beaded items with their mothers and female relatives during the years before marriage, and then carry them into their marital homes. Photo: MOI Fine Jewelry
