Beads
- Place of origin:
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Glass, gilded, with applied colours
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
Glass, room 131, case 85, shelf 7
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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. The beads traded were not of a set form, but were produced according to demand, which could vary from region to region, resulting in many thousands of different designs. The cost of producing the beads declined as glassmaking technologies developed and, for Europeans, the beads provided a cheap and efficient means of exploiting African resources.
These eight beads were made in Venice in the 19th century. They are made of blue glass with gilding and applied colours.
Physical description
8 beads of blue glass, decorated with gilding and applied colours
Place of Origin
Venice, Italy (made)
Date
19th century (made)
Artist/maker
unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Glass, gilded, with applied colours
Object history note
The donor of these beads was Moses Lewin Levin, a London bead merchant whose import-export business operated from 1839 to 1913. Most of the beads he dealt in appear to be Venetian although in 1898 the Levin Company was listed as an importer of Venetian, Bohemian and German beads. The British Museum has an important collection of glass trade beads (including some on sample cards) acquired in 1865 from Lewin Levin. (See – The History of Beads, from 30,000 BC to the Present, Lois Sherr Dubin, London: Thames & Hudson, 1987, p10.)
Historical context note
The accessions register notes that the beads were 'made for trading'.
Descriptive line
8 glass 'trade' beads, made in Italy (Venice), 19th century, for European trade in Africa (part of set of 713 beads)
Exhibition History
Cultural Connections: Africa (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/07/2008-30/06/2009)
Labels and date
Glass beads
Europe, particularly Venice, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and the Netherlands
1830-1910
These glass beads are of the kind known as 'trade', 'aggry' or, sometimes, 'slave' beads. Made in Europe for use in trade in West Africa, they were given to the Museum by Moses Lewin Levin, a London bead merchant. The beads were produced according to demand, which could vary from region to region, resulting in many thousands of different designs.
Glass
Museum nos. 4551:1 to 3-1901, 4552:1-1901, 4553:1-1901, 4554:1 to 3-1901, 1051:2 to 4-1904, 1054-1904
Materials
Glass
Categories
Glass; Black History; Slavery & Abolitionism
Collection code
CER
