Putmek Round Bead Necklace


$ 920.00 $ 1,150.00
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  • Putmek Round Bead Necklace
  • Pumtek, or "buried thunderbolt", beads have been highly prized trade objects and amulets for thousands of years in Burma, from the ancient Pyu people to Chin tribesmen in contemporary times. The oldest are opalized palmwood, lending a specific sheen and grain; newer ones (post 1930s) may be made of different varieties of petrified wood. The Chin believe that material only occurs when lightning strikes an agatized wood deposit, and the magical symbols that decorate them are said to inherit the strength of both air and earth spirit, acting in harmony.