Beads #105981

These glass beads were first made in Venice for trade with Africans in the early 1800s. The origin of the term "Christmas beads" is unclear. African traders have offered the explanation that the colors are happy and Christmas is a happy time. The beads feature all the colors of the rainbow, but predominantly yellow and red. Various shapes, assorted small sizes and patterns combine to form a single approximately 36" long strand. They have also been called "Love Beads" because they resemble strands worn by hippies in the 1960s and 70s.

These hand-carved cow bone beads come from Kenya in east Africa. To decorate the surface, artisans create the pattern using a "batik" process. This involves painting a pattern on the surface of a plain bead with a wax-like substance. When the beads are subsequently immersed in dye, the pigment darkens the bare surfaces and leaves the wax-coated areas a natural bone color.

These hand-carved and polished African cow bone beads from Northeast Africa have been dyed a warm, buttery brown. These modern beads have been inspired by ancient Egyptian styles. These graduated beads range in size from about 5x16mm to 8x30mm.

These thin, off-white discs are made from west African clam shells. Traders call them coco blanc (French), in contrast to coco noir, the charcoal to black disk beads made from coconut shell. While many African still make many disk beads by hand, today the rich marine resources of the Philippines are being harvested to produce shell disk beads commercially in a wide variety of sizes in natural and dyed colors.

These hand-carved and polished African cow bone beads from Kenya show off their natural warm bone color. Approximately 20mm in diameter by 6mm thick. These beads are stunning interspersed with sections of our larger hammered brass and copper chains.

These hand-carved cow bone beads come from Kenya in east Africa. Their natural warm white color is reminiscent of ivory without hurting any elephants. They look great with African amber, silver, brass, or paired with other bone beads.

These hand-carved and polished African cow bone beads from Kenya show off their natural warm white color.They will accommodate leather cord up to about 2mm in diameter or can be strung on cable wire of at least 0.018 diameter. Try using them with other bone beads, wood beads, recycled glass and African metals