Strand of small pumtek beads 6 tubular, 4 rectangular and 42 round beads ranging in size from 8 to 4mm diameter. Only one available
Pumtek means "buried thunderbolt" in the Chin language of Burma where these beads originate. That gives an idea of how interesting they are!
They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and may have been inspired by, and were probably originally made with similar techniques as, dZi beads.
They exploded onto the western bead market in the 1980s and were initially not very expensive, but the prices have increased dramatically and reproductions quickly followed, confusing the market
I particularly like these small sizes, but they were likely made within the past 40 years in Myanmar.
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