To encourage the scholarly study of beads, which are among the oldest, most universal, and enduring artifacts of mankind.
To provide educational opportunities for bead mavens/lovers to expand their knowledge of beads.
To foster public appreciation of beads as objects of beauty that have been used not only for adornment but as status symbols and protective amulets in ancient, ethnic, and contemporary cultures.
To stimulate the creative spirit of bead artists and craftspeople interested in making beads, designing jewelry or using beads in other art forms.
The Society Pursues its Mission by:
Disseminating knowledge and education through lectures by artists in the field, archeologists, historians, and collectors.
Sharing our resources through our research library - open to our members.
Providing a scholarship to study the Bead Timeline of History donated by the BSGW to and permanently housed at the Peabody Institute at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
The BSGW Promotes:
Cultural understanding through the interpretation of beads;
What beads tell us about people
the men and women who have worn them and made them, traded them and treasured them
their aesthetic impulses and artistic abilities
their technological skills and trading patterns
their hopes and fears and social roles
Exploration of bead making, stringing, design techniques and bead art.
