Necklace, Venetian Chevron trading bead

This necklace uses 17th century Venetian Chevron glass beads. These beads were used to trade gold, minerals, ivory and even slaves with tribal chiefs of West Africa from the 16th – 18th centuries when glass was unknown in Africa. They were highly prized by chiefs who used them as adornment to demonstrate their power and wealth. The beads effectively became currency and were the basis of Venice's great power and wealth from the 16th century. The Chevron is made up of between 5 – 7 layers of coloured glass which were ground down by hand to reveal their dynamic pattern. Their elegance and technical refinement makes these among the most treasured of antique trading beads. Chevrons were a favourite of African chiefs who wore them with lion's teeth and other amulets. They are still the aristocrat of antique glass beads and sought after as investment and heirlooms by bead collectors. The brown glass beads used in this piece are also antiques and were made in Ghana by recycling beer and medicine bottles used by the European traders of the time. The bottles were recycled by grinding them into a powder, melting the glass and re-forming them again. Most old Ghanaian glass beads worked in this way are blue, green or brown in colour because that was the colour of the bottles used by the traders.
Length: 44 cm / 17 inches, lowest point approx 65 cm / 25 inches