Javanese Jatim Bead Strand

Mustard yellow, slightly lumpy, with a single green bead slipped in near the end.

This Jatim bead strand is Javanese, from East Java, Indonesia, and dates to the 8th / 9th century. It is glass. Jatim, short for Jawa Timur, or East Java, is the name collectors give to early glass beads found in that region, generally associated with the era of the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms. The beads are round to barrel-shaped, opaque yellow with a soft matte surface, pitted and speckled with reddish flecks. Faint swirls and folds show where the glass was wound. One green bead sits near the end of the strand. It is 13 inches long.

They have been around long enough to stop worrying about matching.