Ashanti Glass Trade Beads, Dark Gray Smoke, beautiful glass saucer beads, dark gray smoke color strung on straw rope. Adds a beautiful design element to a room. We love them casually draped over a book or bowl or hung on one of our bead stands to appreciate their translucent qualities. Each strand of beads has been artfully assembled by hand with skill and joy.
Imperfection is inherently part of its character. Minor variation of color/shape/size is expected for handmade artisan crafted products, it is desirable and not considered a manufacturing defect.
DIMENSIONS: Strand Length:24.00 (in)Bead Width:1/4 (in)Bead Depth:3/16 (in) beads measure approximately 1/4” diameter each and strands measure approximately 24”, over all length and have approximately 150 beads each.
MATERIALS: Artisan Crafted Handmade Glass Beads, Straw Rope
FACTS & HISTORY: Trade beads are beads that were used as a medium of barter within and amongst communities. They are considered to be one of the earliest forms of trade between members of the human race. It has also been surmised that bead trading was one of the reasons why humans developed language.
The process of making these beads is unique to Africa and has been used for over 1000 years. Pulverized glass of various colors is poured into a clay mold, using a cassava stem for the bead's hole. The mold is placed in a furnace and heated until the glass particles congeal without actually melting and the stem burns out. The Ghanaians have been making beads in this manner since the 1600s.
