Ethnographic parallels can be an important tool in improving our understanding of glass and glass beadmaking technology of antiquity and the Middle Ages. In a few cases, methods employed by ancient glassworkers have survived to the present day. Perhaps the best place to view these techniques today is in India. Traditionally made glass beads, glass arm rings (bangles) as well as glass mirrors made from blown glass coated with lead, similar to items made in ancient and medieval Europe are still being manufactured in small glass workshops in India.