Burmese Tribal Silver Beads

Every bead wears a small cross with a dot at its heart, as if marking the spot.

These tribal silver beads are Hill Tribe, from Laos, Thailand and Burma, and date to the early 20th century. The hill peoples of mainland Southeast Asia, among them the Hmong, Akha, Lahu and Yao, have long worn silver as both ornament and portable wealth, and the metal is often credited with protective power. Each bead is a flattened square cushion, its face crossed by raised bars that meet at a central dome. The edges are softly rounded, and the silver has a matte, lightly scuffed surface. They are strung here in long, orderly rows.

Squares that agree with one another, all the way down the line.