In reading the post about the beads that were thought to be Venetian, a couple of people mentioned that Venetians do not use white powder. That white powder is mainly a Indian beadmaking thing. The white powder I assume is a type of bead release. So, if the Venetians didn't use bead release to ease the removal of beads from the mandrels, what did they use?

I have read in bead books that the beads were made on copper wire, but that seems to be a Victorian misinterpretation to me. Since copper wire would melt before the bead was decorated in the flame, and the acid mentioned as a method to disolve the wire would give the glass a matte finish. From experience I know that if you leave molten glass on thin bare steel or iron rods, the glass sticks very effectively if left to cool. So who did those wily venetians use?

Oh and what is the white powder composed of?

Cynthia