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A beautiful pair of Berber silver bangles featuring a brilliant work of granulation. This kind of work is very characteristic of the deep south of Morocco (Goulimine), Mauritania and vast areas of Western Sahara. 

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

Dutch chevron glass beads are 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.

Nice patina

A very fancy Bohemian glass beads necklace from the 1920’. Glass masters from Bohemia and Moravia have been producing glass beads from more than ten centuries. Of course also during the European colonial period exporting large quantities of trade beads. Very precious for locals in West Africa for its fancy colors and numerous shapes. Elegant!

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 Euro-pean, 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, ignomi-niously, in the slave trade. The increasing demand in Africa of European made glass beads conti-nued 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.

An eye-catching and fancy Kuchi necklace from Afghanistan. It is made of beautifully chained metal beads and glass cabochons. The 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. Their jewellery has become extremely popular among those practising oriental dances and belly-dancing.

A superb pair of old silver hoops from the Hazara, an ethnic minority group of persian origin that lives in central and Northeastern Afghanistan and in Northwestern Pakistan. This sample shows outstanding engraving and it is rimmed with delicate granulation work. Large size. It probably comes from the Nuristan region in Afghanistan or from Pakistan. An example of this quality and age are very hard to come by and have become very much sought after. Early XXth century.

An interesting old Berber piece from Southern Morocco. The upper part is a cluster of red coral branches, an assortment of beads of glass, silver and stone and old coins. This arrangement protects a small leather amulet (-gris-gris-) hidden underneath. The coins are two twenty-cent silver coins from the French emperor Napoleon III of 1867 and two one-dirham silver coins from Meknes from the XVIIIth century. The lower part is a fragment of iron and brass mail or mesh. A rare headornament also found in Southern Algeria. Outstanding and rare piece from the third quarter of the XIXth century.

An embroidered tribal belt from the nomad tribe of the Kuchi in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Further decorated with glass beads and coins. 1970's.

An embroidered tribal belt from the nomad tribe of the Kuchi in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Further decorated with glass beads and coins. 1970's.

A great set of four ancient Islamic lampwork glass beads featuring a great spiral/feather pattern high relief decoration in a captivating yellow and whitish colors on a great black core. Full of character and showing a great patina considering their age.

The larger bead is approximately 15mm (long) by 9mm (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 mosaic pad beads), trailed, filigreed, combed, fused rods, segmented/blown, folded (an Islamic innovation, 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.

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 charming artisan handmade raffia hat worn by the peasants in Burkina Faso. Extremely attractive, easy wearable and the perfect companion in your adventures in the countryside, on the beach and, yes, you will also look great wearing it on the streets of your city. Doubt no more and indulge yourself!.

A charming artisan handmade raffia hat worn by the peasants in Burkina Faso. Extremely attractive, easy wearable and the perfect companion in your adventures in the countryside, on the beach and, yes, you will also look great wearing it on the streets of your city. Doubt no more and indulge yourself!.

A charming artisan handmade raffia hat worn by the peasants in Burkina Faso. Extremely attractive, easy wearable and the perfect companion in your adventures in the countryside, on the beach and, yes, you will also look great wearing it on the streets of your city. Doubt no more and indulge yourself!.

A lovely artisan handmade dyed raffia shopping basket. So cool!.

A joyful artisan handmade plant fiber carrying basket or bag from Senegal. 

Decorated with nice colour it will prove a true companion during your holidays by the sea. Do not let it go!.

A joyful artisan handmade plant fiber carrying basket or bag from Senegal. 

Decorated with nice colour it will prove a true companion during your holidays by the sea. Do not let it go!.

A joyful artisan handmade plant fiber carrying basket or bag from Senegal. 

Decorated with nice colour it will prove a true companion during your holidays by the sea. Do not let it go!.

A joyful artisan handmade plant fiber carrying basket or bag from Senegal. 

Do not let it go!.

An exquisite old silver, red coral and turquoise bracelet. It features a wonderful chiselled and engraved decoration and most appealing rosettes ornated with coral and turquoise cabochons. Its design takes us to the pashtoon tribes in Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. The quality of the chiselling, engraving and granulation on this piece is outstanding, elegant and well-balanced. First half of the XXth century.

A great old Moroccan Berber silver bracelet from the Occidental Anti-Atlas. Beautiful incised decoration and very nice patina.

A Berber silver and enamel bracelet from the city of Tiznit in South Morocco. Ornated with blue, green and yellow enamel. Very good quality of work. Adjustable size.

A lovely old Berber Tunisian Hand of Fatima, -khamsa- or -khomeissa- silver pendant. The word -khamsa- means literally five in arabic, a number to which Berber beliefs grant prophylactic effects. It affords protection to its wearer as a poweful talisman that wards evil off. Very nice worn patina.

An old Berber silver talisman known as the Southern Cross or -Boghdod- from the Moroccan pre-Sahara Desert. The granulation work suggests some Mauritanian influence. As a former Spanish ambassador to Morocco Jorge Dezcallar de Mazarredo explains in -Joyas Bereberes de la colección Jorge Dezcallar- the parents would present their children with a Southern Cross upon coming of legal age saying: -Son, I give you the four directions-. It is a powerful talisman for protection as it benefits from the power of  the number five ( four directions and the central element pointing above).

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 wonderful pair of silver earrings engraved with simple Tuareg motifs from Niger. We have not really seen many like these in our modest tour. Truly a collector's piece! Unfortunately one of the pins is defective, although it would not be difficult to repair it.

Simple yet great Tuareg silver and glass ring (tisek). It features a nice engraved side decoration. It is also ocassionally used as a hair ornament. Great patina. The Tuareg are a nomadic Berber (amazigh) group that lives in the Sahara Desert. Mid-XXth century.

It can be used like pendant.

A great old Tuareg leather bag from Niger. Goatskin and pigments. Tuareg women are in charge of leatherworking. They soak the skins and remove the hair to then tan them with natural tannins and soften them with oil or butter. The colourful decoration uses natural dyes. A superb piece, tribal, authentic and very decorative.

A great old Tuareg leather bag from Niger. Goatskin, cotton and pigments. Tuareg women are in charge of leatherworking. They soak the skins and remove the hair to then tan them with natural tannins and soften them with oil or butter. The colourful decoration uses natural dyes. This sample features a lovely ornamentation that combines painted, embroidered and incised decoration. A superb piece, tribal, authentic and very decorative.

A lovely necklace made of old recycled -pâte de verre- discs from Ghana. 

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 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.

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.