A Necklace of Javanese and African Vintage Glass Beads and Ancient Indonesian Trade Wind Beads
This necklace brings together centuries of trade beads history, from ancient excavated Indonesian "trade wind" beads to antique African trade beads and the more recent Javanese beads of the early 20th century.
The large (38-41mm), unusual deep blue bi-cone "end of the day" glass beads are the creation of Javanese bead makers of the early 20th century. They are decorated with fragments of older Venetian Chevron bead fragments. The larger 14mm blue round beads are antique Dogon glass beads from Mali, of Dutch origin. The smaller (5-6 mm) blue cylindrical spacers are authentic vintage Turkana beads from northwest Kenya. The tiny brick-colored spacers are ancient excavated "trade wind" beads from Indonesia. While their exact age is unknown, they are believed to be at least 800 years old if not more. Indonesian trade beads were manufactured as early as 500 BC and were widely traded in South East Asia since antiquity. Finally, blood-red jade beads and tiny brass spacers are used in this one-of-a-kind necklace.
