Pumtek and other Beads of Burma

2011-11-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

A high quality Pumtek stone bead from the 1990s

2011-11-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T10:34:00.002-08:00

2011-11-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T10:33:00.002-08:00

2011-11-11T10:33:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T10:32:00.001-08:00

2011-11-11T10:31:00.001-08:00

2011-10-26T09:59:00.001-07:00

Ancient Pyu/Tircul decorated stone bead.

2011-10-20T09:50:00.001-07:00

28 mm

2011-10-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ancient Pumtek stone bead with zig zag decoration.

Pyu/Tircul Period, Burma.

17 mm x 10 mm

2011-10-03T05:55:00.001-07:00

2011-09-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

Click image to view Pumtek beads for sale.

2011-08-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

Above: Pumtek Bead with 'tortoise shell' design.

Above: Burmese Star Tortoise

Pumtek bead with a striking resemblance to the shell of the Burmese Star Tortoise.

2011-08-18T09:37:00.001-07:00

2011-07-15T07:13:00.001-07:00

2011-07-15T03:54:00.000-07:00

2011-07-15T03:50:00.001-07:00

2011-07-15T03:34:00.001-07:00

2011-01-20T06:44:00.000-08:00

2011-01-20T06:41:00.001-08:00

2010-12-23T14:01:00.000-08:00

A 24k gold ring that has been set with an opalised Pumtek eye bead.

2010-12-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

A super large Pumtek created in the 1990s. This high quality bead is not to be confused with beads from the 1920s and earlier. 86.50 mm x 15.90 mm

2010-12-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

An ancient Pumtek from Burma that never managed to reach the stage of decoration and drilling. 9.80 mm

2010-09-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

2010-05-20T05:03:00.001-07:00

2010-05-20T05:01:00.001-07:00

2010-05-20T04:58:00.001-07:00

2010-05-20T04:56:00.001-07:00

2010-05-12T10:49:00.001-07:00

2010-05-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

Pumtek with zig zag stripes and monkey decoration. Probably from 1990s production. approx 40 mm x 11 mm

2010-05-01T13:06:00.001-07:00

2010-05-01T02:35:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from The Chin Hills: a history of our people, Volume 1 By Bertram Sausmarez Carey, Henry Newman Tuck ~ Published 1896

"The cornelian is the most prized ornament of the Soktes, Siyins and Tashons. Although the Hakas collect and preserve these necklaces, they do not wear them so generally as is the fashion of the north, and they do not value them like the sacred Pumtek, which is at once the most prized and the most costly possession of the southerner, and is always readily exchangeable for any valuable such as cattle, guns and slaves"

2010-05-01T02:24:00.000-07:00

Above: Ancient Pumtek beads supposedly from river finds during the monsoon season.

Excerpt from the Lakhers's by N. E. Parry published 1932.

"In Tisi the theft of a necklace of Pumtek beads is regarded as very serious, and the thief is fined a cow (mithun), and has to return the necklace. The theft of a pumtek necklace, as it is always worn round its owner's neck, is considered to be tantamount to cutting the owner's throat. If a man loses his pumtek necklace, and it is found and restored to him, he is expected to give the finder a dao (thuasang), the reason for this being the belief that a man who finds a lost pumtek necklace is liable to suffer from weak eyes, and that the gift of a thuasang, which carried the idea of brightness, will restore the dimmed eyes of the finder of the necklace."

2010-04-28T14:49:00.001-07:00

2010-04-28T14:45:00.001-07:00

2010-04-15T13:32:00.001-07:00

2010-04-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

2010-04-15T13:23:00.001-07:00

2010-04-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

2010-04-15T10:43:00.001-07:00

2010-04-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

2009-12-24T06:05:00.001-08:00

2009-12-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

2009-12-02T15:15:00.002-08:00

2009-12-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

2009-12-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

2009-11-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

2009-10-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Various antique (some possibly ancient) Pumtek with end damage.

2009-09-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T12:37:00.001-07:00

2009-09-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

central eye bead 27.43mm x 23.17 mm

2009-09-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T10:41:00.001-07:00

2009-09-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

2009-09-18T10:35:00.001-07:00

2009-09-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Central eye bead 23.76 mm

central eye bead 27.43mm x 23.17 mm

2009-09-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

2009-09-08T11:45:00.001-07:00

2009-09-08T11:39:00.001-07:00

2009-09-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

2009-09-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

2009-09-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

2009-09-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

2009-09-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

2009-08-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

Ancient and antique pumtek beads.

2009-08-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

Four strands of ancient and antique pumtek, agates and coral.

2009-08-27T12:44:00.001-07:00

Ancient and antique pumtek, agate and coral.

2009-08-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ancient and antique pumtek.

2009-08-27T11:56:00.001-07:00

Ancient and antique Pumtek.

2009-08-27T11:51:00.001-07:00

Ancient and antique pumtek.

2009-08-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ancient and antique Pumtek beads.

2009-08-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Ancient and antique Pumtek beads.

2009-08-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

A selection of new decorated agate beads from China or Taiwan. Similar designs are seen on ancient stone beads found in Burma (often labelled as Pyu beads) and the Himalayan regions. These designs are also seen on Pumtek beads. size approx 14 mm

2009-08-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

2009-08-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

2009-08-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Pumtek bead with zig zag design. Sourced in Nepal.

2009-08-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

Pumtek beads sometimes turn up on strands mixed with Indo-Tibetan beads. This bead was sourced in Nepal.

2009-03-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

2009-03-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

2009-03-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from 'The Lakhers' by N. E. PARRY (published 1932)

"Men who possess them wear necklaces of pumteks, a black-and-white bead, sometimes round and sometimes oval or flat in shape. The round beads resemble peppermint bulls'-eyes. Old necklaces of these beads are very highly valued and treated as heirlooms. It is almost impossible to buy them, as no Lakher will part with them unless in the very last resort. Modern pumtek beads are imported from Mandalay, but I do not know where they are made. They are of very different quality from the old beads, and it is easy to distinguish a new bead from an old one. New beads fetch up to ten rupees each, according to their quality. Legend relates that old pumteks were the droppings of a goat. When the goat's owner fed him well, the goat produced pumteks of great excellence ; if the quality of the food fell off, the pumteks likewise deteriorated."

2009-03-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

2009-03-06T05:52:00.000-08:00

2009-02-24T06:09:00.000-08:00

2009-02-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

The Buried Thunderbolt

2009-02-20T17:10:00.000-08:00

The word Pumtek means 'buried thunderbolt' and should be regarded as the generic name for a large variety of decorated stone beads of various shapes and sizes. They are made from silicified/opalised wood and in some cases agate. They are found mainly on heirloom necklaces of the Chin tribe. The earliest Pumtek (often highly contrasted black and white decorated stone beads) possibly date to 400 BCE. Early 20th century Burmese bead makers also adopted the name Pumtek for their own newly created fossil wood beads. These beads were designed to replicate the Pumtek found on their much prized heirloom necklaces. This small Burmese cottage industry was revived once again in the 1990s and has continued to the present day. A wave of heirloom beads first appeared in the West during the 1980s and they were soon to end up in private collections. They were very affordable at this time because little was known about them. Nowadays they command very high prices in and outside of Asia where they are avidly collected.

Above Left: Detail from a photograph published in 1896 by Carey & Tuck in The Chin Hills Gazetteer. This is probably the earliest known publication that mentions these beads. It shows a woman from the Chin tribe wearing a necklace of round six stripe Pumtek and also a number of Pumtek with the zig zag decoration. The following is said about these beads: "the sacred pumtek...at once the most prized and the most costly possession of the Haka, a tribe found in the Chin hills of north-west Burma...[and]...always readily exchangeable for any number of valuables such as cattle, guns and slaves".

Excerpt from the Hand Book on the Haka Chin Customs by W. R. HEAD (Published 1917)

"Tradition says that a man possessed a goat and according to the food he gave it, its dung became pumtek beads. Good food produced good beads and vice versa. Mahooya beads (another name for Pumtek) are highly prized. Now-a-days they come from Gangaw in the Pakku District, but, where they are bought, the Chins do not know : some of the modern ones are of just as good quality as the old beads : there are ten varieties round, flat and cylindrical they are of a black background with white stripes. They vary from annas 8 to Rs. 100, but heirlooms are priceless and cannot be bought. Lyen Mo of Sangte possesses the most, but the best specimens belong to the Sangpi family. Lyen Dun, Chief of Klang Klang Tribe, also possesses many beads."

The book also mentions the following:

"It is customary for Chiefs owning very special beads (or property) of good quality to hold a feast, and, in front of the assembled company, to forbid his heirs to part with certain beads and gongs and order that they must be kept in the hmunfi : the result is that no Chins will dispose or part with these heirlooms if he did so, ill-luck would befall and he would die and, further, his wife become barren."

N.B.The above report by W. R. Head was published in 1917 and mentions that 'modern' Pumtek (or Mahooya) beads were available in Burma at this time. This clearly shows that some of the more recent Pumtek were being made prior to the 1920s, however, it is still unclear when this production started or whether there had been a continued (or sporadic) production since ancient times. It is clear that many Pumtek show signs of being much older than early 20th century manufacture, but would not fall into the 'ancient' category.

We do know that Pumtek were being made in the 1920s, however, this was not the only period of production for these beads. Ancient Pumtek are believed to date somewhere between 1000 and 2500 years old , and are often referred to as Pyu beads. However, there is a huge variety of ancient Pyu beads (including those made from glass and other types of stone), so I refer to Pumtek from the Pyu period as 'ancient Pumtek' for clarity and simplicity. It is also important to note that many beads that are given the name 'Pyu' (or believed to be from the Pyu/Tircul period) may in fact be from a much earlier time. Some decorated agates that we see on heirloom strands were probably traded to Burma from India.

Above: An heirloom Pumtek necklace (shown in 'The Lakhers' by N. E. PARRY - published 1932) with many of the beads likely to have been made from agate or a more opalised material. If Parry's information is accurate, the name Pumtek was used for all types of decorated stone beads that were important to the Chin people. It was not a name exclusively given to fossil wood beads, although many collectors are doing this today.

2009-02-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

2009-02-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

2009-02-20T16:16:00.002-08:00

2009-02-20T16:16:00.001-08:00

2009-02-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

2009-02-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

2009-02-20T16:13:00.000-08:00