In ancient African graves, beads and beaded necklaces have been found buried with kings and chiefs. The Ashanti reasoned that powdered glass beads were worth their weight in gold and that certain beads held supernatural protective powers. Today the most important representatives of the art of bead making are in the country of Ghana. Ghanaians have been making beads since the 1600s and possibly before. This work is done in several villages in Ashanti territory located in the central region and other villages in the Krobo lands of the southeast. One of the most artistic styling of this craft is a bead formed from powdered glass. This method of making beads involves pounding glass, usually from scrap bottles, into a very fine powder, pouring the glass into clay molds and then applying heat so that the particles fuse together. Powdered beads are also referred to as “pot beads, sand cast beads and priests beads. The older string of beads offered here feature dark blue denim coloration along with segments of natural shades of light blue, gray, tan and off white. The 67 beads have been strung upon a thick heavy fiber cord. These beads are over 45 years old.

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Dimensions: 13 inch hang length.

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*Fixed shipping is for domestic orders only.