Antique African Trade Beads in an Asymmetric Necklace of with Large Rare Millefiori, Awale, Russian Blues, and Dutch Dogon Beads.
This one-of-a-kind 26.5" long infinity necklace is made of antique African Trade glass beads. It combines rare large purple and blue tabular millefiori beads, large deep blue Dogon Dutch beads, Russian blues, and small Awale sliced disk spacers.
The trade beads used in this necklace are old, dating to the late 1800s - early 1900s. They come from across Europe and are a piece of the fascinating history of the trade beads in Europe.
The centerpiece is a rare large elbow tabular millefiori bead 40x11mm. A single large tabular millefiori hexagonal bead creates a contemporary asymmetric look in this necklace made of beads of venerable age; they are 26.5 x 28 mm. The cylindrical millefiori beads complement the centerpiece beads in color and style, and range from 12 to 20 mm long. These millefiori beads were made in Venice in the early 1900s for the African trade. The small disk-shaped Awale beads resemble chevrons but are not made with multiple layers. The ones used in this necklace are slices of 3-5 mm long and 8mm in diameter. They date to the late 1800 to early 1900s. The small (approx. 4-5 mm) faceted Russian blue beads are of similar age. They were made in Russia primarily for the Hudson Bay Trading Company and extensively used in the fur trade. And finally, Dutch round deep blued Dogon beads were made in the Netherlands for African trade. These were exceptionally popular with the Dogon people of Mali. These are old beads, possibly dating back before the 19th century.
Please note that the beads are old and have traveled from afar. There are some nicks and chips and shape irregularities are expected, although the beads are generally in excellent condition for their age.
