East Javanese Beads as Palau Heirlooms
By Peter Francis, Jr.

A rich Palauan heirloom necklace. The crecentric pieces were cut and drilled from glass bangles.

Note the decorated beads toward the top -- they were made in East Java between ca. 600 and 900 AD.

Picture from Palau Pacific Resort: like no other island dream, a brochure put out by Pan Pacific Hotels, Tokyo Hotels International

Palauan dancers, also from the brochure

Close-up of Palauan dancers show them both wearing single beads altered from bangles.

Indo-Pacific beads were made for more than 2000 years, some 1200 years in Southeast Asia.

They were apparently "small change" on Palau

The white spotted bead from East Java is the most valued and wide-spread of the East Javanese beads on Palau..

East Javanese mosaic bead
 

Called "Pelangi," (rainbow) in Indonesia. From Beads in Indonesia by Adhyatman and Arifin..

Small twisted striped beads. Also from Beads in Indonesia

Two fragments of (one?) "Big Yellow.
The paper clip is 3 cm (1 1/4 inches) long..

We at The Bead Bugle are honored to be able to reprint several of Peter Francis’ articles that originally appearer in his publications and website. Everyone in the Bead Industry will miss Peter and his contributions.


"When a wise man dies, a library burns to the ground." This African proverb reflects the way many of us felt, on hearing the shocking news of the premature passing of Peter Francis Jr. Peter was our encyclopedia. Whenever we had a question about bead history or technology, or wanted to learn more about a bead we couldn't identify, we could call on Pete to either give us the answer, or point us in the right direction. And always with a spirit of sharing; never making us feel ignorant or insignificant. For this, we will miss him. Much of Peter's work lives on, through his many books and articles, both for the scholarly and the more popular press. But much more may be lost. Pete had a wonderful ability to combine his prodigious knowledge with keen intelligence, to make connections between one seemingly unrelated piece of information and another, and to come up with a unique insight which could be the beginning of a new story or theory. We will certainly miss his enthusiasm for learning, and his courage to pursue his work, even at peril to his own health.

Part of Eulogy for Peter Francis Jr.
Delivered at the Memorial Service January 21, 2003 by James Lankton

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