Jewels

A pair of old Berber silver earrings found in Taliouine in Southern Morocco. They are worn by the women of the group of the A

A pair of Berber silver earrings from Morocco. Their design makes them very attractive and wearable. Nice engraved decoration.

A pair of Berber silver earrings from Morocco. Their design makes them very attractive and wearable. Nice engraved decoration.

A beautiful pair of old Afghan silver and coral long earrings. Their design is very original. Great patina.

A beautiful pair of old Afghan silver and coral ong earrings. Their design is very original. Great patina.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A beautiful pair of old Afghan silver and coral ong earrings. Their design is very original. Great patina.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A beautiful pair of old Afghan silver and coral ong earrings. Their design is very original. Great patina.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A superb pair of Afghan Kuchi old silver and red coral large hoops. They show a detailed silver work that evidences the mastery of the silversmith that made them. Kuchi people, from the Persian -koch- meaning migration, are Afghan pashtoons nomads divided in a number of tribes that inhabit areas of Afghanistan and, to a lesser extent, Pakistan.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A superb pair of Afghan Kuchi old silver and red coral large hoops. They show a detailed silver work that evidences the mastery of the silversmith that made them. Kuchi people, from the Persian -koch- meaning migration, are Afghan pashtoons nomads divided in a number of tribes that inhabit areas of Afghanistan and, to a lesser extent, Pakistan.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A superb pair of Afghan Kuchi old silver and red coral large hoops. They show a detailed silver work that evidences the mastery of the silversmith that made them. Kuchi people, from the Persian -koch- meaning migration, are Afghan pashtoons nomads divided in a number of tribes that inhabit areas of Afghanistan and, to a lesser extent, Pakistan.

A superb pair of Afghan Kuchi old silver, red coral and turquoise large hoops. They show a detailed silver work that evidences the mastery of the silversmith that made them. They are particularly eye-catching the turquoise and coral cabochons and the elaborate design of the chains from which beautiful red coral beads are suspended. Pieces of this quality are hard to come by nowadays. Kuchi people, from the Persian -koch- meaning migration, are Afghan pashtoons nomads divided in a number of tribes that inhabit areas of Afghanistan and, to a lesser extent, Pakistan.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

A nice set of old Afghan earrings made of old silver and coral beads.They are further ornated with small cabochons of turquoise and coral. Joyful and great to wear.

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. 

A Very original set of one hundred and two vintage gilding bath silver beads from the skillful hands of a Mauritanian artisan. Uniques!

Avarage diametre between 5 and 7mm

Three superb vintage biconic gilding bath silver beads from Mauritania. Made by lace filigree. Very original!

Average measures 22mm long by 8mm diameter.

Four beautiful vintage bi-conical tabular gilding bath silver beads featuring granulated filigree work decoration. Very original!

Average size 23x11x6mm

Superb gilding bath silver beads necklace. It features the characteristic and intricate granulated and filigree decoration of the Mauritanian goldsmiths. Second half of the 20th century.

Central bead measures 17mm in diameter and the smallest 7mm.

A set of four joyful lamp work Venetian fiorà trade beads from the first half of the XIXth century. Their name comes from their characteristic floral or flower decoration that in a captivating array of colors and motifs is distributed on the main body of the bead which, in this particular case, is of a nice opaque black color.

Approximate dimensions (larger bead): 12mm x Ø14mm.

Also referred to as decorated fancy beads, fiorate or fiorà, these Venetian lamp work glass trade beads are amongst the most attractive we may find. Their main feature is their flamboyant and joyful floral or flower decoration using a rich variety of colors and patterns: feather, bow tie, bouquet, dots, spiral (here we have to mention the well-known Lewis & Clark beads named after the explorers who first traded them with the tribes they found on their expedition from the East to the West coast of the United States in the early 1800s), linear, filigree, etc. They were mainly produced as from the first half of the 19th century. They are usually round or oval shaped.

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 superb strand of sixty eight trade glass biconical beads, most of them are “eye beads” inspired on the much more ancient Islamic type, and five of them with linear decoration are the so called “King beads” by English merchants or Gololo by West Africans. These types of beads were made in Venice as from the beginning of the XIXth century using the lamp work technique. They were made in a variety of colors combining an opaque glass, solid color core (yellow, burgundy, black, green, etc.). These beads were among the most important ones in the gold trade in Africa.

The biggest bead is 16mm long and 23mm diameter and the smallest 10mm by 12mm.

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.

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.

Lovely strand of fifty seven trade glass biconical beads. These type of beads  were made in Venice as from the beginning of the XIXth century using the lamp work technique. They were made in a variety of colors combining a opaque glass solid color core (yellow, burgundy, black, green, etc) on which linear decoration was applied in a lively combination of colors. These beads were known in the trade a “King beads” and also, locally, as Gololo beads. These beads were among the most important ones in the gold trade in Africa.

The biggest bead is 20mm long and 22mm diameter and the smallest 12mm by 13mm.

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.

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.

Lovely strand of sixty three trade glass biconical beads. These type of beads were made in Venice as from the beginning of the XIXth century using the lamp work technique. They were made in a variety of colors combining a opaque glass solid color core (yellow, burgundy, black, green, etc) on which linear decoration was applied in a lively combination of colors. These beads were known in the trade a “King beads” and also, locally, as Gololo beads. These beads were among the most important ones in the gold trade in Africa.

The biggest bead is 16mm long and 18mm diameter and the smallest 12mm by 12mm.

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.

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 superb collection of fifty-six rosetta or chevron glass beads of two, three and four layers made with star-shaped cross section cane insets with external stripes in two and three colors and in some cases finished with a final layer of transparent glass. These beads were manufactured in Venice from the early nineteenth century and would have been employed in West Africa in the trade of gold and palm oil.

The largest of the beads is 17mm in diameter and 15mm in length and the smallest is 8 by 8mm.

European glass chevron trade beads were certainly the first to be traded in Africa as early the 15th century. They show a very characteristic “rosetta” o “star” layered decoration attained by giving form to glass in star shaped moulds. Layer after layer are applied to form a cane which is then cut in 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.

A lovely Moroccan Berber old silver plaque with beatiful incise decoration. Pieces like these were sewn in rows on textile or leather pieces making beautiful headbands. They were often combined with some other elements such as coral, amzonite, silver coins, trade beads to a most flamboyant result.

A lovely Moroccan Berber old silver plaque with beatiful incise decoration. Pieces like these were sewn in rows on textile or leather pieces making beautiful headbands. They were often combined with some other elements such as coral, amzonite, silver coins, trade beads to a most flamboyant result.