African Trade Beads

I just received a few parcels of antique trade beads from a friend who travels around the world in search of the rare and the unusual. The metal rectangles are Baoule folkcrafted brass beads from the Ivory Coast. The cone-shaped beads surrounding it are very rare antique brass funnels from North Nigeria.

Also from North Nigeria is a multi-stranded necklace of blue glass beads decorated with Colonial coins and old brass bells.

The strands to the right include two of graduated cow bone from Nigeria and a strand of Ethiopian "red amber" (which is actually very early German plastic).

These and other one-of-a-kind trade beads are on special display at Anita's Beads and will be available for purchase for a limited time (through the end of April).