Jewels

A lovely necklace made of recycled glass beads -pâte de verre- from Ghana. 

A sophisticated engraved silver Tuareg pendant known as Agadez Cross or Sothern Cross from Niger. It is traditionally the man who would give it to his wive on the wedding day or to his son when reaching adulthood to guide them on the right path.

A sophisticated engraved silver Tuareg pendant known as Agadez Cross or Sothern Cross from Niger. It is traditionally the man who would give it to his wive on the wedding day or to his son when reaching adulthood to guide them on the right path.

An outstanding old silver and mother of pearl cabuchon Afghan ring. Just beautiful!

An old silver with bakelite resin cabochon ring from Afghanistan. These type of rings usually have an agate, turquoise or lapis lazuli stone but it was probably lost over time and was successfully replaced by this cheerful yellow color. 

A beautiful old silver ring from Afghanistan. Features a large central cabochon with an rare color agate stone. Nice patina.

A charming old turquoise and silver ring from Afghanistan. The setting is formed by a rosette of little silver domes with a lovely central turquoise cabochon.

An old silver Afghan ring featuring a lovely green glass. Simply beautiful!

A lovely old silver ring with nine small set turquoises and coral beads. Its shape and design clearly recalls of the Bedouin rings from Oman and other areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Kuchi nomads (of Pasthun ethnicity) cross the vast territory that goes from Iran to India, so their creations are always rich fusions of different styles. Unique.

A lovely old silver ring with nine small set turquoises and coral beads. Its shape and design clearly recalls of the Bedouin rings from Oman and other areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Kuchi nomads (of Pasthun ethnicity) cross the vast territory that goes from Iran to India, so their creations are always rich fusions of different styles. Unique.

A lovely old silver and carnelian agate ring from Afghanistan. The granulated composition forms a hollow space that was traditionally used to hold a piece of cloth soaked in perfume and that would serve to scare away evil spirits. Beautiful patina.

A joyful Afghan old silver, turquoise and resin ring. These multiple cabochon rings, double, triple or even quadruple, are very characteristic of the Kuchi people, nomads of ethnic Pashtun who travel the vast territory between Iran and India, making their creations a rich mixture of influences.

A beautiful old silver and carnelian agate ring from Afghanistan. Nice patina.

A beautiful old silver and carnelian agate cabochon ring from Afghanistan.

A beautiful old silver ring carved with arabesques and carnelian agate cabochon from Afghanistan.

A lovely old silver ring with ten small colored glass cabochons and a bigger central one with a agate carnelian stone. Southern India inspirations. The Kuchi nomads (of Pasthun ethnicity) cross the vast territory that goes from Iran to India, so their creations are always rich fusions of different styles. Unique.

Beautiful and original antique silver ring with eight small colored glass cabochons and a bigger central one with a turquoise stone. It combines influences from Southern India, Nepal and Afghanistan. The Kuchi nomads (of Pasthun ethnicity) cross the vast territory that goes from Iran to India, so their creations are always rich fusions of different styles. Unique.

A beautiful and rare antique silver ring from Afghanistan. Its singularity lies in the ancient so-called Gabri glass bead in the central cabochon that would have usually had a stone attached.

The Gabri glass beads are from the Islamic period, that is, between the 8th and 12th centuries. Produced in the Middle East and spread through Central Asia with the expansion of Islam.

A beautiful and rare antique silver ring from Afghanistan. Its singularity lies in the ancient so-called Gabri glass bead in the central cabochon that would have usually had a stone attached.

The Gabri glass beads are from the Islamic period, that is, between the 8th and 12th centuries. Produced in the Middle East and spread through Central Asia with the expansion of Islam.

A beautiful and rare antique silver ring from Afghanistan. Its singularity lies in the ancient so-called Gabri glass bead in the central cabochon that would have usually had a stone attached.

The Gabri glass beads are from the Islamic period, that is, between the 8th and 12th centuries. Produced in the Middle East and spread through Central Asia with the expansion of Islam.

A beautiful and rare antique silver ring from Afghanistan. Its singularity lies in the ancient so-called Gabri glass bead in the central cabochon that would have usually had a stone attached.

The Gabri glass beads are from the Islamic period, that is, between the 8th and 12th centuries. Produced in the Middle East and spread through Central Asia with the expansion of Islam.

A beautiful and elegant old silver and carnelian agate ring from Afghanistan. It is clearly seen in the polished cabochon stone the double tracing of the hole that indicates that it was used as a bead for a necklace and that it is undoubtedly much older than the ring itself. Carnelian beads from the Indian subcontinent are documented in deposits as disparate and distant as the Niger basin or Mesopotamia and in times as old as the Sumerian civilization.

A spectacular old silver and carnelian ring. Features a precious filigree square base that could very well have been a Zar ring from Oman. The cabochon houses a precious agate carnelian stone bead held by a silver rod. The Zar rings from Oman protect against the evil one (Jinns) and are used in the exorcism ceremonies. Beautiful patina.

A charming old turquoise and silver ring from Afghanistan. The setting is formed by a rosette of little silver domes with a lovely central turquoise cabochon 

A wonderful old silver and turquoise Afghan ring. Balanced granulated work and a large cabochon that houses a beautiful turquoise stone. Lovely patina.

An old silver bangle featuring the characteristic geometrical incised decoration and with some areas in black and red. This kind of piece is mainly found in Mauritania, Western Sahara and areas of southern Morocco. 

A very attractive Berber old silver bracelet. It has lost part of its chiselled decoration due to intensive use but it has got a wonderful patina instead. 

A cute old Moroccan Berber silver bangle ornated with incised decoration. In the origin it was a city piece of jewellery. As a part of a seven bangle set they were known as "simana" in reference to the seven days of the week. Other names: -slouk-, that is, -threads of iron-. 

A cute old Moroccan Berber silver bangle ornated with incised decoration. In the origin it was a city piece of jewellery. As a part of a seven bangle set they were known as "simana" in reference to the seven days of the week. Other names: -slouk-, that is, -threads of iron-. 

An original pair of Tuareg silver and ebony rings featuring a characteristic decorative shape from that group.  The Tuareg are a nomadic Berber (amazigh) group that lives in the Sahara Desert. Its population is mainly spread in Algeria, Libya, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. 

Five authentic ancient beads from the Islamic Period (8th to 12th centuries). Three of them showing spiral motif and the other two are eye beads. Marvelous patina after centuries of being buried, including iridescence on one of them.

The central bead measures 20mm long and 8mm in diameter.

When referring to Islamic beads we follow bead expert Robert K. Liu’s description in Ornament Magazine: “The term Islamic Period Glass Beads is used, similarly to Roman Period Beads, to classify groups of ornaments from specific geographic areas and time periods, with recognizable characteristics including patterns and techniques. In the case of Islamic glass beads we know they originated in the Middle East and flourished mostly between the seventh and twelfth centuries. Their designs display a wide mix of techniques and styles: millefiori/mosaic (including pierced mo-saic pad beads), trailed, filigreed, combed, fused rods, segmented/blown, folded (an Islamic inno-vation, Holland and Holland 2006) and those derived from amulet shapes, like charmcase beads with loops.” Islamic glass beads travelled from their sources of production in the Middle and Near East together with the expansion of Islam to North Africa, Southern Europe (Spain), India and the Far East and they reached areas well beyond Islam’s actual limits of expansion such as Northern Europe. They also flowed into Sub-Saharan Africa, where they were valued and cherished for centuries in the Malian ancient kingdoms as a symbol of status and played an important role in the communities’ rites and ceremonies such a burials, initiation or dowries.

A lovely set of eight old translucent glass faceted monochrome beads and a blue oval islamic one. The first would have been produced in the eighteenth century in the city of Amsterdam in order to imitate rock crystal and other precious stones in the trade with the African and American colonies. The red bead with white nucleus could be Venetian. The blue oval one is much older, quite similar beads have been found in fortresses of the Bizantine period in Albania. Beautiful range of colors.

Central oval bead measures 16x11x7mm.

The Dutch beadmaking industry seems to have a short but intense history. Since the SXVI, large quantities of glass beads were produced in the city of Amsterdam thanks to the incorporation of Venetian beadmakers who brought in the necessary techniques and tools to supply Dutch merchants in the incipient trade with the colonies in Africa, Asia and the New World.

We use the term trade beads to refer to the European made glass beads that were used by the European merchants and explorers in the trade in Africa as from the 15th century and continued during their colonial expansion.

The history of trade beads in Africa takes us then to the 15th century and the arrival of the European, mainly the Portuguese, to the coasts of West Africa. The European discovered quite soon how much the people they met there fancied beads and saw they an opportunity for trade. Amongst the beads that captivated the African people most were glass beads since the techniques for their making had not yet been developed locally. The locals fell for the precious and colorful glass beads such as Venetian millefiori or chevron beads that the European traders had on offer and bartered them for commodities such as precious woods, ivory, gold and even used, ignominiously, in the slave trade. The increasing demand in Africa of European made glass beads continued quite until the first half of the 20th century and it had a boosting effect in the production in cities such as Venice which glass beads became very popular and coveted.

A lovely selection of eighteen mixed Venetian trade beads. Circa late 18th to early 20th centuries. Highlights three chevrons and ten “end of the day” beads.

Central bead measures 14mm in diameter

The so called “End of the Day” beads, as the story goes, would be made at the end of the working day by the artisans using the leftovers of other beads made during that day. The result is as pop and modern as you can see.

European glass chevron trade beads were certainly the first to be traded in Africa as early as the 15th century. They show a very characteristic “Rosetta” or “star” layered decoration attained by giving form to glass in a star shaped moulds. Layer after layer are applied to form a cane, which is then cut into cylinders and ground to show the alternated chevron or star layers. They were first produced in the Venetian island of Murano at the Barovier glass factory. The rarest examples are very much coveted and they are quite commonly tagged by the number of layers they show.

We use the term trade beads to refer to the European made glass beads that were used by the European merchants and explorers in the trade in Africa as from the 15th century and continued during their colonial expansion. The history of trade beads in Africa takes us then to the 15th century and the arrival of the European, mainly the Portuguese, to the coasts of West Africa. The European discovered quite soon how much the people they met there fancied beads and saw they an opportunity for trade. Amongst the beads that captivated the African people most were glass beads since the techniques for their making had not yet been developed locally. The locals fell for the precious and colorful glass beads such as Venetian millefiori or chevron beads that the European traders had on offer and bartered them for commodities such as precious woods, ivory, gold and even used, ignominiously, in the slave trade. The increasing demand in Africa of European made glass beads continued quite until the first half of the 20th century and it had a boosting effect in the production in cities such as Venice which glass beads became very popular and coveted.

The model of these thirty-three beautiful Venetian trade beads is without any doubt among those most popular in barter trade in West Africa. They were made at artisan workshops in Venice from the mid-1800s to the first third of the 19th century using the lamp work technique. The very typical eye or dotted decoration classes them as eye beads. The combination of white dots on a black background, though there are other combination of colors, made them known in the trade as “black and white skunk” as they reminded of the fur of this animal. In Spain they where also known as “Moorish” beads and where sometimes found as part of the jewellery arrangements of traditional “charra” jewellery from the province of Salamanca.

The larger bead measures approximately 12mm (long) and 14 mm (diameter).

We use the term trade beads to refer to the European made glass beads that were used by the European merchants and explorers in the trade in Africa as from the 15th century and continued during their colonial expansion. The history of trade beads in Africa takes us then to the 15th century and the arrival of the European, mainly the Portuguese, to the coasts of West Africa. The European discovered quite soon how much the people they met there fancied beads and saw they an opportunity for trade. Amongst the beads that captivated the African people most were glass beads since the techniques for their making had not yet been developed locally. The locals fell for the precious and colorful glass beads such as Venetian millefiori or chevron beads that the European traders had on offer and bartered them for commodities such as precious woods, ivory, gold and even used, ignominiously, in the slave trade. The increasing demand in Africa of European made glass beads continued quite until the first half of the 20th century and it had a boosting effect in the production in cities such as Venice which glass beads became very popular and coveted.

Eye glass beads are beads which main feature are circular decorations that remind of an eye made using lamp work, inset or mosaic techniques. One of the best examples of eye beads are found among Islamic beads mostly blue or green with white eyes as well as eye dotted Venetian glass beads (skunk). The eye decoration may be a simple eye or a number of them scattered on the surface of the bead, they may be plain ones or concentric ones using different colors. Eye beads may also present some linear trails, ziz-zag or floral decoration. Eye beads have been very much valued for centuries, actually they still are, among not only Islamic people but also African people as they were regarded as strong amulets to avert the evil eye and for their alleged prophylactic and magical properties.

Lamp working is one of the main techniques for the making of glass beads. Lamp or lamp work beads were made using glass canes that were reheated to a temperature of up to 1000 ºC by means of a blowtorch or blowlamp and which were then wound onto a coated iron rod to avoid the molten glass from sticking to the metal. The beads produced by the artisan by these means could be then further decorated by re-heating the bead using the same lamp work method and applying colored glass rods or glass cane inserts to the surface of the bead creating an endless variation of patterns and making of each bead one of its own.

A very original large silver pendant from the nomadic group of the Peul or Fulani in Mali. Its design reminds somehow of certain gold pieces found among certain groups in Senegal. Fantastic goldsmith work!

Three truly awesome, beautiful and sought after old Mauritanian silver beads (agrabb al-fadda). These beads are hollow and made by welding very thin martelé silver plaques. In this case they also feature a lovely filigree silver lace decoration. Early 20th century.

Central bead measures 17mm in diameter and lateral beads lenght is 28mm.