PYU Pictorial & Essay

by Jamey D. Allen
GBI Knowledge Center
In the Summer of 1988, I received a call from Elizabeth Harris in
Los Angeles. She was excited by the news that beads from Burma
were in the radar. Burma had been a closed country for a long
time, and it was unusual for anyone to go there, let alone to bring
items out. I caught her excitement, as she explained to me that
Judith Ubick, another Bead Society member, was working for a
client who had a large quantity of ancient beads, that had been
brought out of Burma. The person who sold them to the dealer said
the “archaeologist” was not interested in the beads, and allowed
him to have them. [Of course, we may never know how many
details of the story are true, but some of it is fishy.]

Judy had been hired to use the beads in necklace designs for the
new owner, who is an antiques dealer in Palos Verdes. This was
no easy task, since many of the beads had impacted perforations-
-full of very hard dirt that was difficult to remove. Nevertheless,
Judy strung-up a nice variety of necklaces. It occurred to her that
these were such great and unusual beads, and there were so many,
that she convinced the owner to donate a selection to The Bead
Museum.

That’s why Elizabeth was telephoning me. She and Judy decided it
would be great if I were to come down, view the beads, and make
the selection for The Museum. I was honored to participate. Two
days later, I was on a plane to LAX, met Elizabeth, drove to Judy’s,
and we began to go over the beads.

I was amazed for a number of reasons. The assortment included

stone beads, such as crystals, agates, something that looked like
green jade, carnelian, decorated beads (like those of India and
Persia), and small pumtek beads. Also glass beads imitating the
green stone beads and crystals, and Indo-Pacific beads.

In 1988 pumtek beads had only been around for five years, having
come out of the Indian Hill Tribe region--to an audience that was
amazed by them, sometimes compared them to Tibetan zi beads,
and had a variety of ideas about their age and origin. If I may
digress for a moment, all of this is pertinent to Pyu beads in a
significant way. [By the way, Pyu is pronounced “pew”--not “PIE-
you.”]

Pyu beads relate to pumtek beads, pumtek to zi, and zi to “etched”

or “decorated agate beads” in general. I was first exposed to zi
beads in 1970, reading The Universal Bead by Joan Erikson--who
briefly mentioned the ‘mysterious tzi beads of Tibet.’

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In 1974, in the premiere issue of The Bead Journal, Robert Liu
wrote a piece on plastic imitations of zi beads. It wasn’t until
1979 that I was able (thanks to Liza Wataghani) to see a group of
zi beads in real life, and soon thereafter decorated carnelian and
black agate beads from Afghanistan (courtesy of Kate FitzGibbon
and Andy Hale). Here’s a group of them from 1983.

I had good opportunities to study and document these specimens.

That was my beginning--because I have always said, “beads speak
to me.” I feel I learn much more from an examination of beads
than I do from reading something. And, in truth, most of the
time when I read something about beads, I come away feeling the
author is somewhat inadequate--either from lack of exposure to
enough material, or because he or she fails to express the situation
well and accurately. Nevertheless, between 1970 and 1980, I did
read whatever was available to me about beads--a significant
resource being The Bead Journal and Ornament. I also benefitted
from discussions I had with Si Frazier (a mineralogist), and other
involved bead researchers. Between 1980 and 1983, I voraciously
read all of the bead literature I could find, working mainly at
the San Francisco Public and UC Berkeley Libraries. Although my
main lines of inquiry were about glass-beadmaking, I also read
the works of authorities who dealt with Indian and Middle Eastern
antiquities, and particularly stone beads.

So, in 1983, when pumtek beads showed up at my doorstep, I

was surprised, but not unequipped. My friend Tony Anninos, at
that time, was bringing art and artifacts back from India and the
Himalayas.

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He would always come to me first, to get my take on his latest
finds, to help him make sense of the new wonders he had
discovered. We were both blown away by these decorated stone
beads, that were sort of like Tibetan zi beads, but also very
different. The story had them in the hand of tribal folks in Eastern
India, who had formerly lived in Burma.

I went to UC Library,
and proceeded to find
several references to the
traditional beads of the
Chin and Hakachin, that
were called “pumtek”
beads. Until this time,
no one even knew the
name of these beads.
Here’s a plate from
N. Perry’s book, the
Lakhers, from 1932,
showing the pumtek necklace of a local chieftain named Rachi. The
numbers are there because Perry recorded the names of each type,
and what it was used for.

By 1985, pumtek beads

had become almost
commonplace, and I
was able to purchase
several whole strands
and necklaces of them. I
corresponded with David
Ebbinghouse almost
weekly about them, and
we exchanged a lot of
ideas. David intended
to write a paper on
pumtek beads, similar to
his very good article on zi beads for Ornament. However, he kept
putting off publication, and I managed to have the first word. I
wrote a short article for The Forum--the newsletter of The Society
of Bead Researchers, showing the patterns I had documented, and
citing a few references. Two of the big questions were, how did
this sort of manufacture happen to take place in Burma (assuming
this was the original homeland of these beads); and how did they
relate to Indian “etched” agates and to Tibetan zi beads?

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(By the way, 1985 was also the year I participated in the
International Bead Conference in Long Beach, and gave a paper on
imitation zi beads--particularly plastic imitations.)

So, when a group of ancient beads, such as these Burmese

beads, became available for contemplation, it provided a LOT of
interesting connections. And that’s because the group included
beads that were clearly from India, and/or were Indian-inspired,
had what appeared to be more-or-less typical “etched” carnelians
and pumtek beads, AND had specimens that seemed to be
intermediary between these two groups. Then, there were the other
beads that no one had ever seen before, as well as familiar types
that might be seen from almost anywhere in Southeast Asia.

As I mention above, I was given an opportunity to photograph

beads from this large group, and to select a small group that was
given to The bead Museum. A few months later, Judy contacted
me again, and said the owner had had all of the necklaces made
that she was interested in making--and that I would be allowed
to buy some of the remaining beads for my specimen collection.
So, in October, Walt Seifried and I went to Judy, and together we
made a selection of beads, that we shared. About a year later, Walt
bought/traded for all of the remaining beads, directly from the
owner in Palos Verdes. I was with him when this transpired.

In the following photographs, I will show the variety of this first

group of Pyu beads to come into America in 1988. These shots
were taken by me at the first meeting, and then in October of the
specimens I acquired.

STONE BEADS - This is a group of spherical stone beads, showing

the variety of materials available to the beadmakers. Remember,
at this time we didn’t even know the name “Pyu,” and had no clear
idea from what period these beads belonged. We only knew they
had been excavated together, in Burma.

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Quartz Crystal Beads - These crystal beads are beautifully made,
and could easily be imports from India or Persia. Nevertheless,
distinct original shapes (as we see in the central bead of the
second image) suggest a local origin for at least some of them. The
third photo of this group consists of amethyst beads.

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“Jade” or Green-Stone Beads - Quite a few stone beads are
composed from a jade-green material that I believe is quartz,
something like the typical green adventurine of India, but with a
more even color and texture. Although Burma is the primary old-
world source for jadeite, I don’t think these beads are that. Once
again, we begin here with the plain spherical beads--showing the
variation of sizes and colors. As in all my photographs, the scale at
the bottom is Metric, and the length of the whole ruler (when it can
be seen) is six inches.

In addition to spherical
shapes, green-stone beads can
be seen to be barrels, ovals,
tabular, and other shapes--
as well as made from other
greenish minerals.

Among the distinctive shapes

are these beads that were cut
to resemble certain animals-
-either real animals from
local life, or fantasy animals
from folklore. Here, we see
what appear to be grubs (the lower left), several elephants, and a
fantasy beast, perhaps (second row, number five).

Many collectors have been attracted to the elephant-shaped beads,

typical of Pyu production. Many of these are green-stone beads,
but others are different varieties of quartz too. Note that the head
of the elephant is seldom given much detail, and can even be just a
flat side of the bead. In some cases, the eyes have been suggested
with simple notches. Over-all, the elephants are stylized and
suggested, rather than closely defined.

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Glass Imitating Green-Stone - We are going to consider glass
separately, but let’s make a small exception here. As I poured over
this group of several thousand beads, I began to notice that some
of the “green-stone” beads were actually glass. However, they
were sometimes so similar it was difficult to tell for sure--and god
knows I didn’t have much time to sort or consider. Here’s a shot
(from my group) showing stone on the left, and glass on the right.

Most of these beads are glass.

An interesting thing is that
there are quite a few prismatic
beads that look like they
imitate tourmaline and/or
emerald crystals (though the
real versions of these beads
were not found here). Perhaps the real crystal beads had already
been removed.... Just a few years ago, my friend Jim Lankton went
to Thailand, and found similar glass beads that intrigued him.

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Agate Beads - A broad variety of agate beads, many of which
are banded, was seen in the group. Their typical characteristics,
seen throughout much of Asia, implies an Indian origin for many
specimens.

From my specimen collection, I would be hard-pressed to prove

these six beads are not Indian imports.

This single tapered (or “fusiform”) bead would be equally at-home

in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Persia, Afghanistan, or even
Tibet. It is most likely an Indian bead, sent to Burma. But until we
have a CLEAR idea what Burmese beadmakers knew, and when they
knew it, no one can be sure.

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Carnelian Beads - The use of carnelian was commonplace, as
exemplified by the thousands of specimens seen. Here, we see
the group I acquired, that includes spherical shapes, as well as
faceted types, cylinders, and even a small mollusk-shell effigy
(unperforated)

In contrast to the well-made spheres seen above, I noted a small

group of beads that appeared to be more clumsy in manufacture.
In these beads, one aperture is concave--indicating they had been
drilled from one end, with the opposite end breaking away at
the end of the drilling. This was not typical of India, but might
be expected in a region that had not learned all of the tricks to
beadmaking, or that was just learning them.

In addition to regular geometric shapes and recognizable animal

shapes, I noted other curious types. These four beads appear to
have conformations that suggest molar teeth. These were fairly
numerous.

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Decorated Agate Beads - Although early archaeology called these
“etched agates,” we know this was a mistaken interpretation. I
prefer the designation “chemically decorated stone beads,” or just
“decorated agates.” The processes for making these beads was
pioneered in the Indus Valley civilization, at Harappa, in ca 2,500
BCE. Horace Beck, in his pioneering article on these beads, defined
three main periods of production: Early (ca. 2000 BCE); Middle
(roughly the Roman Period); and Late (now known to encompass
Sasanian and Islamic Period). Needless to say, the second we saw
that there were decorated stone beads included among Pyu beads,
I felt this would give us some reasonable idea of the general dates
for the entire group. And what I saw suggested the Middle Period
more than anything else. This was confirmed a few years later,
when we came to understand these were Pyu beads

In his original article, Beck described three types of decorated

agate beads. Type I (the most common sort) has white lines on a
red or black ground. (Beck mistakenly believed that these ground
colors were “natural,” though we now know the carnelian was at
the least heat-treated, and the black resulted from carbonization.)
He described “Type II” beads as resulting from painting the whole
bead white, and adding black lines. (This is another problematic
assertion, that makes his classification system inadequate, but
makes it easy to spot these beads in any group.) In his lifetime,
Beck only saw about a dozen specimens of these beads--so he
can be forgiven for making possibly a rash interpretation of the
technology. Finally, at the time he wrote, in 1933, Beck had seen
a single specimen he called a “Type III,” in which a carnelian
bead had black lines on a red ground. In viewing the Burmese
beads, another thing that intrigued us was the fact that the group
included quite a few specimens of the more rare “Type II” and
“Type III” beads--many more than Beck had been able to see in his
whole life. Let’s look at some specimens.

The photograph below shows

simple stripe and zigzag
designs. These might have been
made at any time between ca.
2,500 BCE and CE 1000, but
they are at-home in the Roman
Period as much as anywhere.
However, note the “Type II”
“black-on-white” bead (row one, number three) and also the “Type
III” “black-on-red” bead (row two, number five), that we’ll discuss
shortly. And note also that several beads have yellow lines, rather
than the typical white or off-white lines of most such beads.

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In the next photograph, we see three beads that have simple line
patterns. Longitudinal on the left, and around the circumference
on the right and below. Note also that the upper beads are of the
much more rare “Type II” (as named by Beck), that appears to have
black lines on a white ground. The lower specimen is an even more
rare “Type III” with black lines on red carnelian

I mentioned that
a lot of the Pyu
beads were types
easily compared
to pumtek beads,
that in the 1980s
came to us from
Mizoram, India.
The Pyu beads
are much smaller
than the majority
of typical pumtek
beads--and unlike
pumtek beads
consist of a variety of stones, including white agate and a more
yellow material (whereas the nonprecious opal of pumtek beads
is a buff or tan stone with the texture or pattern that reflects its
origin in being fossil palmwood). I refer to the Pyu beads as being
“proto-pumtek” beads. The eighteen beads seen below present the
most common spherical shapes, with longitudinal lines, seen in
both groups. Note also the specimens with yellow-orange lines,
and that the ground colors vary from brown to black.

In this detail
photograph of
six beads, we see
the previous style
close-up, as well
as a bead with
horizontal stripes
(equatorial rings),
and two with
diamond-shaped
figures. Again, the ground colors are very black.

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The four beads below
are similar, though
decorated with yellow
lines. And we can see
that the left specimen
has a geometrical net
pattern?well known from
many Middle Period
(Roman times) beads.

In this detail, we can see a single proto-pumtek, that is brown

with yellowish circles. This is a rare but documented pattern for
pumtek beads.

In this shot, we see two

specimens that again
mirror the patterns seen
in later pumtek beads, as
well as Tibetan zi beads-
-consisting of parallel
zigzags, flanked on the
ends by a plain band or
ring.

This photo shows a close-up of a single “Type II” cylinder with

four rings or bands.

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Here, we see a diamond
tabular bead, of the “Type II”
appearance, with black lines
forming a “V” in each corner,
with a central circle or diamond.
This pattern is also reminiscent
of designs found on later pumtek
beads that are tabular diamonds.

The six diamond tabular beads seen here, likewise resemble

pumtek beads, with their typical cross patterns. One is a “Type II”
bead

Oddly, both of these beads appear to be much like the previous,

but are clearly recut. One may speculate that a broken diamond
tabular has been ground down to a smaller bead. In the left
specimen, we can see that the actual interior color of the stone is
white (though not as white as the artificial lines of the design). In
the right specimen, we can see that this cutting was performed a
very long time ago, as evidenced by the decay of the material on
ALL sides. For many years, I have speculated that “Type II” beads
are really just “Type I” beads, in which the process failed. Due
to such problems as over-hating or prolonged heating, the white
lines turn black (or gray), and the body of the stone turns white (or
another non-red or non-black color). The right specimen here is a
failed “Type I” bead that has become nearly a “Type II.”

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These twelve barrel beads have diamond patterns, or zigzag lines,
and again show lines that may be white or yellow.

The bead below has a pattern typical of many pumtek beads,

consisting of an equatorial band or ring, augmented by
longitudinal lines that do not reach the ends, and with end rings.

GLASS BEADS - The glass beads in this collection of Pyu beads

included typical Indo-Pacific beads, such as might be found from
any of some twelve locations in India/Southeast Asia--of which
two or three would be local (Thailand and Vietnam). So, their
appearance here is not surprising.

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We have already discussed the glass copies of green-stone beads,
and the prismatic beads that resemble tourmaline or aquamarine
crystals. Below are two glass beads that are “collared.” They have
small protrusions on each end. Some similar glass beads were
hot-pinched or constricted, to form the collars, and some were
cut to shape. The collared bead is typical of numerous specimens
recovered at Taxila, India, from sites dating near Roman times. It
is not a stretch to assume that Indian specimens went to Burma,
and incited a local tradition. So, the recovered beads probably
include imported and local specimens.

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