Fancy Venetian European Trade Beads Mixed Africa 40 Inch For Sale

Fancy Venetian European Trade Beads Mixed Africa 40 Inch Other Names raised dot, eye, cornaline d\'aleppo, vaseline, millefiori, amoeba, faceted Made In Venice, Bohemia, Europe Traded In Africa Overall Condition Good. Some of our beads have traveled at least three continents, and have graced numerous owners. Small chips, corrosion, and pitting are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use. Damage/Repair 9 beads in poor condition with severe decoration loss. The rest are fair to excellent. Bead Size 8-21 mm diameter. See ruler shot for comparison. Strand Length 40 inches (including string/raffia) Brand Unbranded Style Trade Beads Type Strand of beads

Beautiful strand!  raised dot, eye, cornaline d\'aleppo, vaseline, millefiori, amoeba, faceted

 

These are not non-fluorescent glass, but their shape is the same, and they are commonly known as \"vaseline beads.\" Vaseline glass beads are usually a small bicone shape with eight facets on either end and vary in colors from yellow through to red. Most of these were produced in Europe in the mid to late 19th century. During this production period the beads were hand faceted and had conical perforations. There was a revival period of \"vaseline\" style beads production in the mid 20th century and the beads pictured here are from that period. You can also see \"vaseline\" glass uséd in vases, compotes, bowls, candlesticks and other utliltarian pieces.

The term \"Trade Beads\" typically applies to beads made predominately in Venice and Bohemia and other European countries from the late 1400s through to the early 1900s and traded in Africa and the Americas. Many of these beads have been attributed to being made in Germany, France and the Netherlands as well.

 

The heyday of this \"trade\" period was from the mid 1800s through the early 1900s when millions of these beads were produced and traded in Africa. The Venetians dominated this market and produced the majority of the beads sold during this time. The J.F. Sick and Co, based in Germany and Holland was one of the largest bead brokers/importers during this period. Moses Lewin Levin was a bead importer/exporter who operated out of London from 1830 to 1913. You can see 4 of the Levin trade bead sample cards from 1865 in The History of Beads (Dubin)

 

The popularity of these beads was revived in the late 1960s when they began to be exported from Africa into the United States and Europe. The term \"Trade Beads\" became very popular during this time period and is still uséd for the same bead reference today. The millefiori beads were also called \"Love Beads\" and uséd in necklaces with peace symbols during the Hippie days.

 

As the popularity and availability of these old beads grew they started getting \"named\". We started hearing terms like \"Russian Blues\", \"Dutch Donuts\", \"King Beads\". Although some of these folklore names are totally meaningless...ie....\"Lewis and Clarke\" beads, they do describe a specific type of bead.

 

And today these beads are more popular and collectable than ever. Thousands of these beads are in private collections around the world. The African Traders are having to go deeper and deeper into Africa to find more of these beads and many styles which were readily available just 5 years ago are no longer seen today.

 

To learn more about \"trade beads\" please read, The History of Beads (Dubin), Collectable Beads(Liu), Ornaments From the Past: Bead Studies After Beck (Bead Study Trust), The Bead Is Constant (Wilson), Arizona Highways (July1971), Africa Adorned (Fisher) and the John and Ruth Picard series of books; Volume III - Fancy Beads from the West African Trade, Volume IV - White Hearts, Feather and Eye Beads from the West African Trade, VolumeV - Russian Blues, Faceted and Fancy Beads from the West African Trade, Volume VI - Millefiori Beads from the West African Trade and Volume VII - Chevron and Nueva Cadiz Beads.

 

There are exceptional museum collections of trade beads at the Museum of Mankind in London, the Pitt River Museum in Oxford, the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium, the Murano Museum of Glass in Italy, the Tropical Royal Institute of Amsterdam,  and the Picard Trade Bead Museum in California, US to name a few.

 

One of the most intriguing aspects to these beads is how they have survived a hundred or more years of wear and the travel through at least three continents. Another mystery is who wore them before us who will have them next.......after us.

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