Glass Beads from the Gagliana Grossa : a Reference Collection for the Venitian Production at the End of the 16th Century

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Glass Beads: Global Artefacts, Local Perspectives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

At the end of 1583, the Gagliana Grossa, a Venetian merchantman, sank near the small island of Gnalić at the south-western entrance of the Pašman Channel, Croatia. Heading to Constantinople from Venice, its cargo contains, amongst other goods, several barrels of glass beads manufactured in Venice. Recovered through several underwater excavations, 5kg of beads and fragments of beads were sorted according to the Kidd and Kidd’s typology (1970) and analyzed with LA-ICP-MS. More than 80 types of beads were identified, all made with the drawing technique, rediscovered by Venetian craftsmen in the 16th century. The elemental composition of the glass beads matches those of other objects from the shipwreck and from archaeological collections attributed to Venetian workshops. This collection sets for the first time a reference for the production of glass beads in Venice at the end of the 16th century.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Glass Beads: Global Artefacts, Local Perspectives   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow