- Beads
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Beads
- Place of origin:
Venice (probably, made)
- Date:
19th century (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown
- Materials and Techniques:
Glass, gilded, with applied threads and dots of coloured glass
- Credit Line:
Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street
- Museum number:
4553:1-1901
- Gallery location:
Glass, Room 131, case 85, shelf 7, box C
These glass beads are of the kind known as ‘trade’, ‘aggry’ or, sometimes, ‘slave’ beads. They are usually associated with West Africa but were originally created in Europe, particularly Venice, Bohemia and the Netherlands. The history of trade beads dates to the 15th century when Portuguese trading ships arrived on the coast of West Africa to exploit its many resources, including gold, slaves, ivory and palm oil. At that time, beads were a major part of the currency exchanged for people and products. Over the following four centuries millions of beads were traded to Africa and by the 19th century European bead makers were producing a wide variety of designs specifically for the African trade.
These fancy beads were probably made by ‘lampworking’ (moulding glass over the heat of an oil lamp or torch), a technique which, unlike drawn glass, could be used in small cottage industries. The beads were then finished with gilding, thin trailings and dots of coloured glass.
