Antique Pumtek beads
$2,450
4 large antique tiger stripe pumtek (buried thunderbolt) beads purchased in the year 2000 from a monk in Kawthung , southern Burma . These beads show obvious signs of wear and a patina from generations of wear yet are larger than the antique pumtek beads i have had from Chin state so they are an enigma . Ive shown them to a professor friend who deals in antiques in Yangon who said he bought similar beads from Mon state in the 1970s . Made from opalised fossil wood .. 3.7 to 4 cm long . A beautiful set of very rare "etched beads"