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African Trade "'King" Glass Beads |
 SILVERHAWK BEAD COLLECTION |
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| ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES |
General Production Note: - ( Notes from
www.africadirect.com) "King Beads" are wonderful old Venetian wound and marvered bicone beads. Sometime in the past, probably in the heyday of the import of African Trade beads in the early 1970s, these were given the name of "King" beads. The legend has it that these were worn by African "Kings" (Chiefs)"King" beads come in a large variety of colors, trailing designs and sizes but always in a bicone shape. The earliest versions of these beads can be dated back to the mid 1800s and represented on Moses Lewin Levin bead sample cards which were donated to the British Museum in 1865. (See THE HISTORY OF BEADS (Dubin)). These old Vehetian "King" beads were made up to the 1920s and later versions are represented on Sick and Co. bead sample cards from this period. Still revered in Africa today, these old beads are on prominent display in Dipo Intiation ceremonies in Ghana, where the yellow forms , in particular, represent maturity and prosperity (See AFRICAN CEREMONIES (Beckwith/Fisher)) . This would explain the popularity of the yellow striped "King" beads. "King" beads are highly collectable and there are some spectacular private collections of these beads in America, Africa, Japan and Europe.To see some rare and fabulous examples of these old Venetian bicone beads see VOLUME IV, RUSSIAN BLUES, FACETED AND FANCY BEADS FROM THE WEST AFRICAN TRADE (Picard) Recommended Reading: VOLUME IV, RUSSIAN BLUES, FACETED AND FANCY BEADS FROM THE WEST AFRICAN TRADE (Picard) |
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apgb-06-0001 DESCRIPTION - Venetian glass bead SHAPE - Bicone SIZE - 27mm dia - 25mm long HOLE - 3mm COLOR - White, dark blue, red & yellow ACQUIRED before 2006 VALUE - $10 for a strand of 25, Shops sell at about $2 each |
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apgb-06-0002 DESCRIPTION - Venetian glass bead SHAPE - Bicone SIZE - 27mm dia - 23mm long HOLE - 3mm COLOR - very dark brown, prussian blue & yellow ACQUIRED before 2006 VALUE - $10 for a strand of 25, Shops sell at about $2 each |
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apgb-06-0003 DESCRIPTION - Venetian glass bead SHAPE - Bicone SIZE - 21mm dia - 20mm long HOLE - 3mm COLOR - yellow. greens & white ACQUIRED before 2006 VALUE - $10 for a strand of 40, Shops sell at about $1.50 to $2 each |
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apgb-06-0004 DESCRIPTION - Venetian glass bead SHAPE - Bicone SIZE - 21mm dia - 22mm long HOLE - 3mm COLOR - Dark green & white with white yellow & rose bands ACQUIRED before 2006 VALUE - $10 for a strand of 40, Shops sell at about $1.50 to $2 each |
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apgb-06-0021 DESCRIPTION - Venetian glass bead SHAPE - Bicone SIZE - 22mm dia - 21mm long HOLE - 3.5mm COLOR - rose & white with white, yellow & dr.green bands ACQUIRED 2006 VALUE - $10 for a strand of 40, Taos, NM shops sold for $2 each |
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apgb-06-0005 DESCRIPTION - Venetian glass bead SHAPE - Bicone SIZE - 16mm dia - 25mm long HOLE - 3mm COLOR - Green, white, yellow-orange & black ACQUIRED before 2006 VALUE - $10 for a strand of 40, Shops sell at about $1.50 to $2 each |
Additional examples of bicone glass beads
( 14mm to 18mm diameter, 11mm to 25mm long )
Showing triangular design element
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I would be delighted to hear from anyone who has more knowledge of the history or production of these fine beads.
Email me at tylerh@newmex.com
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