Tribal Jewelry - "Don Don Sole" Wedding Beads Necklace from Mali - Vintage African Trade Beads

ABOUT: AFRICAN TRADE BEADS

Collectors of fine African Trade beads categorize them by the region in which they find them or where they are most commonly worn - this is not always the same location where they were made. Many glass trade beads were originally made in Europe, but are now almost exclusively identified with Africa. For example, the tube-shaped, colorful millefiore beads are called African Trade Beads, even though most were originally made in Venice during the 1800's. They found their way to Africa through decades of trade, and were quickly integrated into local African jewelry customs. Many other styles of glass beads made in Czechoslovakia, Germany, England, and Venice were traded this way, and are now recognized as classic African Trade Beads.