A digital archive showcasing the extensive collection of jewellery and adornment images shared on the former Ethnic Jewels Ning site over the years. These images have significantly enriched discussions on cultural adornment and its global dispersion.
You need to be a member of Adorned Histories to add comments!
Request your copy of our newsletter.
If you would like to receive our newsletter
Comments
oh! the labels say "Made in Czechoslovakia"...
can you show what beads are inside, or similar?
Yes I am also curious what is in these mystery paper bags.
They are glass pressed beads with a milky opaque look - they are used by the Venda people here in South Africa - they call them prosser beads - look up on the internet there is a story about the French prosser beads - I bought them in these parcels from a dealer who found a supply of them in Kwazulu Natal.
Link - http://www.beadcollector.net/picards/
These one look a bit different and are named - kankamba by the West African Traders.
http://africanbeads.net/wiki/prosser-beads
Oke, I know these beads, they do give an impression of being plastic, until you taste them and hear the ticking sound when touching them with your teeth. Thanks for the article, very interesting.
Gr. Ingrid
Your beads have labels that say "made in czechoslovakia" and the beads inside do appear to be prosser moulded beads such as were being made in Czechoslovakia-
To understand the difference better see the new e-book called "beads from Briare" by floor Kaspers- with lots of recent hands-on research.
The distinctive feature of beads made by the prosser method is not a seam but a wide band around the bead. The glass is not completely melted, only sintered, so the product is basically opaque.