About African Beads

Kiffa beads are rare powder glass beads which acquired their name from Kiffa, a city in Mauritania where they were first documented by French ethnologist R. Mauny in 1949. Kiffa beads represent one of the highest levels of bead making skill, artistry and ingenuity due to the fact that they were created using the simplest tools and materials available, and in open fires. These materials included pulverized European glass beads or their fragments, bottle glass, tin cans, pottery shards, steel needles and some gum Arabic. Decorations for the beads were made from the glass slurry – the crushed glass mixed with a binder and then applied using a pointed tool such as a steel needle. The beads were then placed in small containers such as sardine cans and thereafter heated to fuse them in an open fire, without the need for molds.

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Skunk beads are beautiful wound and decorated African trade beads which create great strands of jewelry items. Originally made in Venice, these beads were commonly used for trading purposes in Africa during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Skunk beads are a must have for every collector worth their salt and today grace many private collections around the world. Because of the increasing popularity of skunk beads amongst bead lovers today, African bead traders now have to go deeper into Africa to find more of these skunk beads which are becoming rarer with each passing decade – which of course makes them even more collectable.

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Originally made using salts from the Dead Sea, Hebron beads date back to earlier than the mid-19th century. Hebron beads – also referred to as “Kano beads”, are commonly found in a dull yellow color, although they also appear in various shades of green and blue, although rare. These beads are a favorite amongst antique bead collectors who cherish them for their rich history which saw them travel from Egypt, along the Nile, into the Sudan and even as far as Ghana to adorn the bodies of West African royalty. Their craftsmanship involves their being wound straight in furnace to produce a shining glass bead. The larger of the Hebron beads are referred to as Mongur, while the smaller ones go by the name Harish.

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For the last three centuries, the bohemian bead industry has thrived under the guidance of expert stone cutters who have continued to work with bright red garnets in and around the bohemian village of Turnov in today’s Czech Republic. This tradition of fine bead making is today evident from the great collections of both old and new glass bohemian beads available on the market today. Historically, the unique styles of the translucent red glass made these beads some of the most popular African trade beads which were used by European seafaring merchants to trade for slaves, ivory and other goods with African rulers in the centuries past.

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Bembe Cote beads are a type of African trade beads popular amongst the Bembe people of Congo. These decorative glass beads were popularly used for trading purposes in Africa during the pre-20th century period, mainly as currency for the exchange of goods, services and slaves. The success of Bembe Cote beads as a form of currency is largely attributed to the high intrinsic value that the people of Africa placed on decorative items. Bembe Cote beads are today available in attractive colors such as deep maroon with each individual bead measuring approximately ½ inches in diameter.

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Dating back to as early as 1915, Vaseline beads are attractive greenish yellow glass beads whose pretty color is attributed to the presence of uranium salts. These beads tend to fluoresce under ultraviolet light and turn a violent green. Later versions of Vaseline beads were made in various attractive colors including bright green, red, amethyst, as well as an opaque blue green which is the color of fine amazonite. These beads are large, faceted and shaped into a rondelle shape or flat disk, with popular jewelry designs featuring both forms on a single strand. Today, Vaseline beads still retain their special significance as highly prized African trade beads.

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Because of their rarity, yellow jacket beads are some of the most highly sought after beads by bead collectors the world over. Yellow jacket beads are distinctly characterized by the precision and detail that goes into making these exquisite layered glass trade beads by hand. Yellow jacket beads receive their name from their coat which features black beads with yellow stripes – which pretty much resembles the appearance of the yellow jacket bees. Yellow jacket beads are another type of African trade beads which were used as currency for trade during the pre-19th century period, mainly in West African countries such as Ghana.

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Beads made from all sorts of materials including brass, glass and metal may be referred to as “fancy beads”. These beads may be labeled “fancy” due to the elaborate decorations that adorn their surfaces. For instance, fancy beads may be decorated with dots, lines, trails and engravings to fit in with their fancy description. Fancy beads may also be shaped after decorating to give them an even more interesting pattern. Fancy beads will typically receive their fascinating patterns and decorations while still in molten state to allow for easier shaping. During the decoration process, glass rods may be used to apply numerous dots, as well as wavy lines or trails to the fancy beads.

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Beads from Ghana can be worn around the neck, as bracelets or even as a part of your clothing. When worn around the waist, beads can greatly accentuate your figure. They may also be used to accentuate your home’s interior décor accessories such as paintings, wall hangings and table napkins.

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With their origin in France, French glass beads were historically used in African trade during the 19th century, mainly in African countries such as present day Ghana. What made French glass beads such a popular currency amongst the African and European traders was the fact that these beads were inexpensive, portable and more importantly they had high intrinsic value for the Africans. Today, French glass beads are used to create beautiful necklaces using, say, a handful of old mustard yellow beads which are strung on raffia, bead to bead. The necklace may then be used to showcase an equally exquisite handmade brass pendant as its focal point.

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