Need ID, possible origin, how to describe, and opinions

Lynne Sanville August 25, 2017 at 4:49am

Cordelia Donohoe said:

Oh sorry perhaps it is your profile photo?

Hi Cordelia,

There are three attachments underneath the request. And yes, one of the images was placed as my profile photo. : )

Thank you,

Lynne

Cordelia Donohoe August 23, 2017 at 10:57pm

Oh sorry perhaps it is your profile photo?

Cordelia Donohoe August 23, 2017 at 10:56pm

Perhaps I missed something but do you have a photo of these beads?

Lynne Sanville August 23, 2017 at 4:26am

Thank you so much for your reply. I am fascinated by them. They are little works of art, and you have to wonder what stories they could tell, like so many of things traded in the world. Cameroon was, at one time, a colony of Germany, so that fits the time frame of late 1800's, and makes sense that they are German made. They have wonderful patina. Thankful for your help!

Ethnic Embellishments August 23, 2017 at 4:16am

I believe these are known as marble beads, originally made in Germany for African trade. I believe that most are quite valuable and run several hundred dollars each, depending on the style and rarity.

Lynne Sanville August 22, 2017 at 10:22pm

Zambezi said:

No expert in this field but in my opinion this is a antique glass marble bead created at the turn of the century in Lauscha, Germany.

If you google Marble beads together with trade beads you will most probably find quiet a few cross references.
Here are a few cross references:

1) A collection of antique German Marble beads at the John and Ruth Picard bead museum in Carmel, California. Photo by Jack DeWitt
2) A collection of these beads that were available on ebay for sale some time ago
3) A close up of the necklace worn by Sindi Schloss ( GIA Gemologist in Arizona and a Bead Museum Board member) featuring a collection of antique German Marble Beads.

There are also a number of boards on Pinterest that deal with old beads and you should be able to find other references for these marble beads. Here is a Pinterest board that I use when looking for cross references for trade beads.

Hope this helps some way in answering your question.

Thank you, I really appreciate the links. Since posting this morning, I started searching for German marble beads, and the information you have offered will give me a more in depth idea of what they are. THANK YOU!

TD August 22, 2017 at 10:14pm

No expert in this field but in my opinion this is a antique glass marble bead created at the turn of the century in Lauscha, Germany.

If you google Marble beads together with trade beads you will most probably find quiet a few cross references.
Here are a few cross references:

1) A collection of antique German Marble beads at the John and Ruth Picard bead museum in Carmel, California. Photo by Jack DeWitt
2) A collection of these beads that were available on ebay for sale some time ago
3) A close up of the necklace worn by Sindi Schloss ( GIA Gemologist in Arizona and a Bead Museum Board member) featuring a collection of antique German Marble Beads.

There are also a number of boards on Pinterest that deal with old beads and you should be able to find other references for these marble beads. Here is a Pinterest board that I use when looking for cross references for trade beads.

Hope this helps some way in answering your question.

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Need ID, possible origin, how to describe, and opinions

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